German.    Latin 


THE  V  ^,. 


-^  nr  r 


HP]IDELBERG  CATECHISM 


IN 


CSmitaw,  Wi^im  m\&  (Bn^Mt: 


WITH    AN 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION. 


PREPAEED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  THE  DIRECTION  OF  TETE  GERMAN  REFORMED 
CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


TERCENTENARY  EDITION 


NEW  YORK : 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER,    124    GRAND    STREET. 

CHAMBERSBURG,   Pa.:    M.   KIEFFER   &   CO. 
1863. 


Entered,  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1863, 

Bt   CHARLES   SCRIBNER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


JOHN  F.  TROW, 

PKISTBR.  »TEHEOTYPKR,  AND  ELICTROTYPER, 

18  4  50  Greene  Street, 
Hev  York. 


PREFACE. 

This  volume  has  been  prepared  by  a  Committee  of  the  Synod  of  the  German 
Reformed  Church  in  the  United  States,  appointed  at  the  annual  meeting  held  at 
Harrisburg,  Pa.,  in  1859;  and  is  designed  to  commemorate  the  Three  Hundredth 
Anniversary  of  the  formation  and  adoption  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism. 

The  resolution  under  which  the  Committee  was  appointed,  orders  "the  prepara- 
tion of  a  critical  standard  edition  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  in  the  original  Ger- 
man, and  Latin,  together  with  a  revised  English  translation,  and  an  historical  intro- 
duction, to  be  published  in  superior  style  as  a  centennial  edition,  in  1863."  Agree- 
ably to  these  instructions,  we  pubUsh  a  comprehensive  historical  and  theological 
Introduction,  and  a  critical  edition  of  the  Catechism  in  four  texts :  Old  German,, 
Latin,  Modern  Gennan,  and  English,  printed  in  parallel  columns. 

The  Introduction  furnishes  a  succinct  but  full  account  of  the  origin  and  forma- 
tion of  the  Catechism,  its  reception  in  the  different  branches  of  the  Protestant 
Church,  and  its  fortunes  in  Europe  and  America ;  and  compares  its  genius  and  the- 
ology with  that  of  other  Reformed  and  Lutheran  confessions,  both  of  earlier  and 
later  date. 

It  has  not  been  considered  desirable  to  accompany  the  text,  from  page  to  page, 
with  notes  and  references  to  authorities.  It  may  suffice  to  state,  that  for  its  histori- 
cal material  in  particular,  use  has  been  made  mainly  of  the  following  works :  Heney 
Alting's  Sistoria  de  JEcclesiis  Palatinis ;  J.  Che.  Köcher's  Eatechetische  Ge- 
schichte der  Meformirten  Kirche  /  Plaj^ick's  Geschichte  der  protestantischen  TheO' 
logie ;  Hekrt  Simon  Van  Axpen's  Geschichte  und  Literatur  des  Heidelh.  Kate- 
chismus /  J.  Che.  W.  Augxjsti's  Einleitung  in  die  beiden  Saupt-Katechismen  der 
Evangel.  Kirche  ;  Rien^ckee's  Articles  on  the  Heid.  Cat.  in  Ersch  and  Grfber's 


4  PREFACE. 

Allg.  EneyJdop.  d.  Wissenschaften  und  Künste  ;  Seisen's  Geschichte  der  Reformat 
tion  zu  Heidelberg  y'  Vierokdt's  Geschichte  der  Reformation  im  Grossherzogthum 
Raden ;  Ebrakd's  Das  Dogma  vom  Seiligen  Abendm,ahZ  und  seine  Geschichte ; 
Karl  Sudhoff's  C.  Olevianus  und  Z.  Tlrsinv^  Lehen  und  ausgewählte  Schriften. 
Reference  may  be  made  properly,  also,  to  J.  W.  Nevin's  History  and  Genius  of 
the  Heidelberg  Catechism,,  published  at  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  in  1847. 

The  Catechism,  as  given  in  the  first  column,  is  the  original  text,  the  ipsissima 
verba  of  the  third  edition  of  1563.  Failing  in  our  endeavor  to  obtain,  in  Europe,  a 
copy  of  the  editio  princeps,  we  have  had  recourse  to  the  work  of  Dr.  H.  A.  Nie- 
meyer,  entitled,  Collectio  Confessionum  in  Ecclesiis  Reformatis  Publicatarum, 
which  furnishes  the  text  as  originally  issued.  We  reprint  it  word  for  word,  and 
letter  for  letter  ;  with  three  exceptions.  "We  insert,  as  being  evidently  necessary  to 
complete  the  grammatical  construction,  the  word  "  ich "  after  "  Dasz  "  in  the  first 
line  of  the  fifty-second  answer,  so  as  to  read :  Dasz  ich  in  allem  Trübsal ;  and  the 
word  "  wil "  before  "  lehren,"  in  the  second  line  of  the  seventy-third  answer,  so  as 
to  read :  Nit  allein  dz  er  vns  damit  wil  lehren.  We  depart  also  from  Niemeyer,  by 
putting  in  brackets  the  memorable  addition  to  the  eightieth  answer,  to  indicate  that, 
whilst  it  belongs  to  the  Catechism  as  approved  by  the  Elector,  Frederick  the  Pious, 
as  received  by  the  Church  of  the  Palatinate,  and  published  in  the  third  edition,  it 
is  nevertheless  not  a  part  of  the  original  Catechism  as  completed  by  the  authors,  as 
first  adopted  by  the  Synod  of  the  Palatinate,  and  published  in  the  first  edition, 
which  was  accompanied  by  the  celebrated  proclamation  of  the  Elector,  under  date 
of  the  19th  of  January,  1563  ;  and  that  therefore,  although  authentic,  it  possesses 
less  ecclesiastical  authority  than  the  other  portions  of  the  answer.*  For  the  same 
general  reason,  we  repeat  the  brackets  in  the  other  columns. 

This  original  text  is  the  ultimate  standard  of  the  Catechism.  It  is  the  noi'm  by 
which  all  subsequent  editions  in  German,  and  all  translations  into  other  languages, 
are  to  be  judged.  As  such  the  Committee  have  regarded  it ;  and  have  consequently 
omitted  in  the  Modem  German  text  and  in  the  EngUsh  translation,  as  being  without 
authority,  all  words  and  phrases  which  have  been  added  in  the  Latin  and  introduced 
into  later  German  editions,  but  are  not  warranted  by  the  German  edition  of  1563. 

The  Latin  is  the  translation  made  by  Joshua  Lagus  and  Lambertus  Pithopoeus, 

*  For  a  history  of  the  80th  question  see  the  Historical  Litroduction,  pp.  37-40 ;  also  the  article  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  Ullmann,  in  the  Tercentenary  Monument,  pp.  130-135. 


PREFACE.  5 

and  published  in  the  same  year  with  the  approval  of  the  Elector.  We  have  edited 
the  text  from  a  Genevan  edition,  which  has  the  following  title :  "  Catechesis 
Religionis  Cheistiak^,  Quje  in  Ecclesiis  et  Scholis  Electoralis  Palatikatus 
TRADiTUR.  A  Friderico  Sylburgio  Wetterano  Graecfe  conversa.  Genevae.  Apud 
Matthseum  Berjon,  M.DC.IX."  No  liberty  has  been  taken  with  the  language  of 
this  edition,  or  more  specifically,  with  the  words  of  the  text ;  but  the  punctuation 
being  defective,  we  have  modified  it,  by  an  application  of  the  same  general  princi- 
ples which  have  regulated  us  in  determining  the  punctuation  of  the  Modern  German 
and  the  English. 

The  Latin  translation,  as  regards  classic  style  and  fidelity  to  the  original,  pos- 
sesses only  ordinary  merit.  Here  and  there,  words  and  phrases  are  added.  In  some 
instances,  the  language  is  a  paraphrase  instead  of  a  translation  ;  in  others  it  fails  to 
give  the  true  sense  of  the  original  Gei'man.  It  cannot,  accordingly,  be  assigned  a 
place  beside  the  original  text.  It  has  no  normal  authority.  Yet  it  possesses  great 
value  for  the  purposes  of  reference  and  comparison. 

The  Modern  German  text  is  edited  on  the  basis  of  the  original  Catechism  as  pub- 
lished by  Niemeyer,  no  clause  or  word  being  allowed  to  stand  imless  warranted  by 
this  criterion  of  judgment.  It  difiers  from  the  old  text  only  in  so  far  as  the  German 
language  of  to-day  itself  differs  from  the  German  language  in  use  three  hundred 
years  ago.  The  difference  pertains  to  orthography,  the  inflection  of  noims  and 
verbs,  the  gender  of  nouns,  and  to  certain  words  and  idioms  which  are  now  nearly 
or  altogether  obsolete.  In  the  execution  of  this  part  of  the  work,  the  Committee 
acknowledges  the  valuable  cooperation  of  the  Rev.  Prof.  Philip  Schaff,  D.  D. 

Taking  the  original  text,  furnished  by  Dr.  Niemeyer  in  his  Collectio  Confes- 
sionum^  as  the  basis,  the  Committee  has  diligently  compared  the  following  works : 
Der  Heidelberger  Catechismvs^  by  Ernst  G.  A.  Böckel,  in  his  work  entitled.  Die  Be- 
kenntniszschriften  der  evangelisch-reformirten  Kirche^  pp.  395-424  ;  an  edition  dated 
at  Heidelberg,  Sept.  1st,  1684  ;  the  official  edition  of  1724  "  Nach  dem  Exemplar  de 
Ao.  1684  revidirt,"  and  embodied  in  the  Chur-Pfaltzische  Kirchen- Ordnung ;  The 
Heidelberg  Catechism^  published  in  the  German  translation,  by  Dr.  F.  A.  Larape,  of 
Dr.  John  D'Outrein's  Gülden  Kleinod  der  Lehre  der  Wahrheit,  Bremen,  1721 ;  a 
reprint  of  the  Catechism  contained  in  Christoph  Stähelin's  Gatechetischer  Hamz- 
Schatz,  first  published  at  St.  Gall,  in  1724  ;  and  a  number  of  later  editions  issued  in 
Europe  and  America,  which  it  is  deemed  imnecessary  to  notice  in  detail. 


6  PREFACE. 

The  English  text  is  a  new  translation.  The  oldest  English  version  is  from  the 
Latin,  by  Dr.  Henry  Parry,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  and  was  first  published  at  Oxford, 
in  1591.  Of  this  version  there  is  a  revision,*  on  the  basis  also  of  the  Latin,  which  we 
have  been  able  to  trace  as  far  back  as  the  year  1728  ;  but  cannot  ascertam  by  whom 
the  revision,  which  varies  from  Parry's  version  in  many  places,  was  executed,  or 
when  it  was  first  published. 

The  received  translation,  now  in  use  in  the  American  German  and  Dutch  Re- 
formed Churches,  is  a  different  work,  and  was  probably  made  originally  in  Holland 
during  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  but  when  precisely,  or  by  whom,  is  not 
known.  Li  point  of  fidelity  to  the  original  and  general  merit,  it  is  greatly  superior 
to  previous  translations  ;  but,  like  its  predecessors,  the  text  is  not  based  on  the  Ger- 
man. The  language  throughout  is  governed  mainly  by  the  Latin ;  and  the  work 
must  be  a  translation  either  of  the  Latin  or  of  the  Dutch  version.  As  the  result  of 
a  careful  comparison,  we  discover  that  whenever  the  received  text  adopts  a  word  or 
clause  that  does  not  stand  either  in  the  German  or  Latin,  the  same  word  or  clause  is 
found  in  the  Dutch  version ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  when  a  clause,  contained  both  in 
the  German  and  Latin,  is  omitted  in  the  Dutch  version,  the  same  clause  is  omitted 
in  the  received  English  text.  Though  the  received  English  text  in  some  places 
departs  from  the  Latin  and  follows  the  German,  this  fact  appears  to  be  no  evidence 
that  the  translation  was  modified  by  reference  to  the  German  ;  for  in  these  instances 
the  Dutch  version  also  departs  from  the  Latin  and  follows  the  German.  The  most 
probable  opinion,  therefore,  sustained  by  internal  evidence,  is  that  this  English  text 
is  a  translation  from  the  Dutch  version ;  and  that  the  Dutch  version  is  a  translation 
of  the  Latin,  modified  by  comparison  with  the  original  German,  and  by  certain  addi- 
tions and  omissions,  which,  in  the  absence  of  any  historical  authority,  may  be  justly 
attributed  to  the  Dutch  translator.! 

When,  early  in  1764,  English  preaching  was  first  introduced  into  the  Dutch 
Church,  by  the  settlement  at  Flushing  of  Dr.  Laidlie,  originally  from  Scotland,  the 
Consistory  resolved  at  once  to  prepare  and  publish  in  English  a  book  of  Psalms  set 
to  music,  the  Confession  of  Faith,  the  Catechism,  and  Liturgy ;  and,  in  May  of  that 

*  Parry's  version  and  the  revision  are  both  reprinted  in  the  "Mercersburg  Review,"  vol.  xiii,  1861, 
pp.  71-133. 

f  The  Dutch  version  is  attributed  to  Rev.  Peter  Dathenus,  and  was  first  published  in  1566.  See  an 
article  in  the  Tercentenary  Monument,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  G.  D.  J.  Schotel,  p.  158. 


PREFACE.  7 

year,  committed  the  matter  to  Dr.  Laidlie,  and  appointed  three  members  of  the  Con- 
sistory as  a  committee  of  conference.  In  July,  a  copy  of  the  prepared  Heidelberg 
Catechism  was  laid  before  the  Consistory,  and,  after  comparing  it  with  the  Dutch 
text  and  the  former  translation,  was  unanimously  approved ;  but  it  did  not  appear  in 
print  until  1767,  when  it  was  published  and  bound  up  with  the  Book  of  Psalms.  In 
the  preface  to  this  work  the  Catechism  is  represented  to  be  a  revision  of  a  transla- 
tion ;  *  the  translation,  no  doubt,  from  an  unknown  source,  which  was  previously 
used,  in  Holland,  among  the  refugees  from  England.  It  is  the  Catechism  ia  this 
revised  form  of  Dr.  Laidlie,  which,  in  1771,  was  formally  adopted  by  the  Synod  of 
the  Protestant  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  and  during  the  second  and  third  decades 
of  the  present  century,  when  the  English  language  began  to  prevail  among  the  Ger- 
mans, passed  over,  though  without  any  formal  Synodical  sanction,  into  the  German 
Reformed  Church,  where  it  has  continued  in  general  use  to  the  present  time. 

The  new  English  text,  prepared  by  the  Committee,  differs  from  the  received  text, 
and,  so  far  as  known,  from  all  previous  English  versions,  in  being  a  translation,  not 
of  the  Latin  or  Dutch,  but  of  the  original  German.  The  Committee  has  been  gov- 
erned, in  making  the  translation,  by  three  leading  principles :  First,  to  translate  only 
from  the  German  edition  of  1563,  as  being  the  ultimate  standard  of  judgment,  and 
refer  to  translations  and  all  subsequent  German  editions,  not  as  possessing  coordinate 
authority,  but  as  subordinate  aids  to  the  correct  xmderstanding  of  the  original. 
We  have  accordingly,  as  in  the  Modem  German  text,  eliminated  every  word  that 
has  crept  into  later  editions,  but  is  not  supported  by  the  text  of  the  ultimate 
standard.  Secondly,  to  make  a  faithful  translation.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the 
Committee  to  express  the  true  sense  of  the  German  correctly  in  the  idioms  of  the 
English  language,  without  weakening  or  strengthening  a  single  phase  of  thought. 
Thirdly,  to  employ  Anglo-Saxon  words ;  avoiding,  as  far  as  practicable,  the  use  of 
Latin  and  Greek  derivatives. 

The  language  of  the  received  text  has  been  adopted  to  the  extent  that  it  could 
be  done  consistently  with  the  free  operation  of  these  principles. 

The  Committee- has  edited  the  Creed  in  Modern  German  and  English.     The 

*  For  these  historical  data  we  are  indebted  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  De  Witt,  D.  D.,  of  New  York,  who  has 
drawn  them  from  records  of  the  Dutch  Church.  In  a  private  letter  to  the  chairman  of  the  Committee,  he 
remarks :  "  I  think  the  evidence  conclusive  that  the  edition  used  in  our  churches  and  yours  is  a  careful 
revision  from  the  former  translation,  made  by  Dr.  Laidlie." 


8  PREFACE. 

Creed,  as  it  stands  in  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  being  a  translation  of  the  form  of 
faith  which  comes  down  to  us  from  the  primitive  Church  through  the  medium  of 
the  Greek  and  Latin  language,  this  translation  is  a  proper  subject  of  Criticism  and 
review.  The  meaning  of  words,  in  the  course  of  time,  is  modified  and  changed. 
The  term  hell  no  longer  conveys  the  old  sense  unequivocally.  It  has,  therefore, 
after  much  reflection,  been  dropped.  Hades  is  substituted,  because  it  is  the  original 
word,  and  expresses  more  fully  and  definitely  the  idea  of  the  Creed.  A  correspond- 
ing change  has  been  introduced  into  the  Modern  German  text. 

The  Scripture  references  have  all  been  verified,  and  the  errors,  occurring  in  Nie- 
meyer's  edition,  corrected. 

The  difierent  parts  of  the  work  were  each,  at  first,  referred  for  preparation  to  a 
Bub-committee,  composed  of  one  or  two  members,  who  afterwards  reported  the  re- 
sults of  their  labor  to  the  entire  Committee,  which  held  meetings  from  time  to  time, 
and  subjected  these  reports  to  a  critical  and  thorough  revision.  Whilst,  therefore, 
the  different  parts  emanate  originally  from  particular  individuals,  the  work  in  its 
final  form,  as  now  issued,  is  properly  the  joint  product  of  the  Committee  as  a  whole. 

No  time  nor  labor  has  been  spared  in  the  endeavor  to  discharge  properly  the 
important  trust  of  Synod  ;  yet  we  do  not  presume  that  the  work  is  faultless.  As  it 
is,  however,  we  commit  it  to  the  Church,  in  the  hope  that  it  may  advance  and 
extend  the  knowledge  of  the  Reformed  faith,  and  hand  down  the  principal  Confes- 
sion of  the  Reformed  Church  to  coming  generations,  with  new  affection  and  honor. 

The  Committee  is  composed  of  the  following  members  :  E.  V.  Gerhart,  D.  D. ; 
John  W.  Nevin,  D.  D. ;  Henry  Harbaugh,  D.  D, ;  John  S.  Kessler,  D.  D. ;  Daniel 
Zacharias,  D.  B. ;  William  Heyser,  Esq. ;  Rudolph  F.  Kelker,  Esq. ;  and  Lewis  H. 
Steiner,  M.  D. 

Lancaster,  Pa,,  Sept.  14<A,  1863. 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION 


TO 


THE   HEIDELBEEG   CATECHISM. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 


AMONG  the  symbolical  books  of  the  Evangelical  Eeformed 
Church,  there  is  no  one  which  is  more  entitled  to  consideration 
than  the  Heidelberg  Catechism.  Whether  we  look  at  its  character  or 
its  history,  it  must  be  allowed  to  be  of  central  significance  for  the 
general  confessional  interest  to  which  it  belongs.  Nowhere  else  have 
we  the  proper  genius  and  life  of  the  Reformed  Church,  as  it  stood  in 
the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  exhibited  and  portrayed  in 
the  same  happily  comprehensive  form.  No  formulary  has  entered  more 
largely  into  the  inward  history  of  this  Church  as  a  whole ;  none  has 
better  claims  to  be  considered  of  ecumenical  authority  for  its  faith. 

In  order  that  we  may  properly  understand  its  merits,  it  is  necessary 
for  us,  first  of  all,  to  consider  its  origin,  as  conditioned  by  the  circum- 
stances under  which  it  was  ushered  into  the  world.  This  requires 
that  we  should  first  glance  at  the  ecclesiastical  state  of  the  Palatinate 
at  the  time,  and  then  notice  more  particularly  the  personal  figures  that 
are  seen  to  move  conspicuously  in  the  work  of  its  preparation. 


12  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 


THE   PALATINATE    AND   THE    KEFORMATIOTT. 

The  title  Palatinate  {Pfalz)  belonged  formerly  to  two  adjoining 
provinces  of  Germany,  which  were  distinguished  as  Upper  and  Lower. 
The  first  {Oberpfalz)  bordered  on  Bohemia  and  Bavaria;  the  other 
{Unteiyfalz)  was  situated  on  both  sides  of  the  Ehine,  touching  on 
different  sides  Mayence,  Wirtemberg,  Baden,  Alsace,  and  Lorraine.  It 
is  frequently  styled  the  Palatinate  of  the  Mliine^  and  has  always  been 
known  as  one  of  the  most  fertile  regions  of  Germany.  The  political 
divisions  and  changes  to  which  the  whole  country  has  been  subjected, 
in  the  progress  of  history,  render  it  difficult  to  identify  it  on  a 
modern  map. 

Heidelberg,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Palatinate,  became  conspicuous, 
at  an  early  date,  in  the  history  of  learning,  by  its  celebrated  university, 
established  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The  founder  of 
this  noble  institution,  to  whose  influence  Germany  stands  indebted  for 
so  much  of  her  cultivation,  was  the  Elector  Rupert^  surnamed  from  the 
color  of  his  beard  the  Red.  The  undertaking  was  solemnly  sanctioned 
by  a  bull  of  Pope  Urban  VL,  a.  1385,  in  which  Heidelberg  is  declared 
especially  worthy,  by  the  salubrity  of  its  air  and  the  fruitfulness  of  the 
surrounding  country,  to  become  such  a  general  fountain  of  science. 
The  new  university  was  required  to  conform  to  the  model  of  the  insti- 
tution at  Paris,  and  was  endowed  also  with  the  same  rights  and  privi- 
leges. Throughout  the  following  century,  we  find  in  the  Palatinate  a 
wholesome  influence  at  work,  in  connection  with  this  seat  of  learning, 
in  favor  of  letters  and  religion ;  which  contributed  largely,  no  doubt, 
in  the  midst  of  all  adverse  agencies,  toward  the  general  movement  that 
served  to  usher  in  subsequently  the  great  age  of  the  Reformation. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  13 

The  Eeforination,  however,  did  not  at  once  find  favor  in  the  Pala- 
tinate. A  certain  measure  of  interest,  it  is  true,  was  drawn  toward  it 
from  the  beginning ;  Luther  had  been  heard  in  Heidelberg  as  early  as 
1518  with  earnest,  admiring  attention ;  a  powerful  impression  was  left 
by  him  on  the  minds  of  a  number  of  young  theologians,  whose  names 
became  conspicuous  afterward  in  the  Protestant  movement ;  and  it 
was  soon  found  that  the  new  doctrine  was  taking  root,  at  least  in  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  land.  But  still  the  cause,  for  a  long  time,  met  with 
no  efficient  public  encouragement  or  support ;  the  reigning  powers,  on 
the  contrary,  both  spiritual  and  political,  were  against  it ;  and  such 
progress  as  it  made,  therefore,  was  without  much  "  outward  observa- 
tion" for  the  most  part,  and  comparatively  silent.  The  university, 
besides  having  declined  seriously  from  its  earlier  life  and  vigor,  was  so 
entii'ely  bound,  in  its  foundations,  revenues,  and  rights,  to  the  Church 
of  Rome,  that  it  was  hardly  possible  for  any  belonging  to  it  to  occupy 
any  other  posture  than  one  of  direct  hostility  to  the  Reformation. 
The  Government,  at  the  same  time,  gave  the  movement  no  countenance. 
Louis  the  Pacific^  as  he  was  called,  was  not  indeed  absolutely  opposed 
to  the  idea  of  ecclesiastical  reform ;  his  general  spirit  inclined  him 
also  to  forbearance  and  toleration.  But  it  was  against  his  whole 
nature,  nevertheless,  to  fall  in  positively  with  what  proposed  to  be 
a  revolutionary  change  in  the  entire  constitution  of  the  Church ;  and  he 
made  it  a  point,  accordingly,  not  to  allow  innovations  which  threatened 
in  this  way  to  disturb  the  public  peace.  He  was  succeeded  in  1544  by 
his  brother,  Fi^edevick  11.^  surnamed  the  Wise^  under  whom,  as  is 
generally  known,  before  he  had  himself  made  up  his  mind  as  to  what 
course  he  should  pursue  in  Church  affairs,  the  people  themselves  took 
the  matter  in  hand,  having  become  now  quietly  prepared  for  the  change, 
and  on  a  certain  occasion,  in  the  principal  church  at  Heidelberg,  as  the 


14  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

mass  was  about  to  be  celebrated,  struck  up  suddenly  the  popular  Protes- 
tant bymn,  JEs  ist  das  Heil  uns  Icommen  her  ;  signifying  in  sucli  strange 
way  tbeir  wisb  to  bave  done,  once  and  for  all,  witb  tbe  old  religion 
and  worship.  This  memorable  event  took  place  on  Sunday,  the  20th 
of  December,  1545,  and  at  once  determined  the  Elector  in  favor  of  the 
Keformation.  It  was  ordered  that  the  service  of  the  mass  should  be 
held  in  the  vernacular  language,  that  the  sacrament  should  be  dis- 
tributed in  both  kinds,  and  that  the  priests  should  be  allowed  to 
marry.  The  very  next  year,  however,  all  was  changed  again  by  the 
unfortunate  issue  of  the  war  of  Smalcald ;  in  consequence  of  which  the 
so-called  Interim  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  was  forced  upon  the 
Palatinate,  bringing  along  with  it,  in  fact,  a  restoration  of  the  Catholic 
system  to  its  former  authority  and  power.  But  it  was  after  all  a  tem- 
porary repression  only  of  the  Protestant  movement,  and  not  its  full 
arrest.  Four  years  later,  the  power  of  the  Emperor  was  unexpectedly 
broken  by  Maurice  of  Saxony,  and  he  found  himself  compelled,  in  the 
famous  Pacification  of  Passau,  to  consent  to  the  religious  freedom  of 
the  German  States.  The  Peace  of  Augsburg  followed  in  1555. 
Frederick  took  new  heart  in  favor  of  the  Eeformation,  introduced  an 
evangelical  church  service,  and  on  the  11th  of  November,  1555,  opened 
in  the  Augustinian  convent  at  Heidelberg,  the  famous  Sapienz-college, 
as  it  was  called,  for  the  education  of  ministers.  It  was  only,  however, 
under  the  following  prince,  Otho  Henry ^  who  had  long  been  devoted  to 
the  new  religion,  and  who  succeeded  his  uncle, Frederick,  in  the  year  1556, 
that  the  Protestant  cause  became  fully  established  in  the  Palatinate. 

But  now,  unfortunately,  the  Protestantism  of  Germany  was  no 
longer  in  harmony  with  itself ;  and  its  inward  divisions  threw  them- 
selves at  once  in  füll  force  on  the  infancy  of  this  new  Church,  threaten- 
ing it  with  universal  confusion. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  15 

The  great  sacramental  controversy  of  tlie  sixteentli  century  includes 
in  its  history  two  entirely  distinct  periods.     As  carried  on  in  the  fii'st 
place  between  Luther  and  the  Swiss  divines,  with  Zuingli,  so  long  as 
he  lived,  at  theii*  head,  it  was  brought  ostensibly  to  a  close  by  the 
memorable  Wittenberg  Concord  of  1536.     This  was  not  considered 
absolutely  satisfactory,  indeed,  on  either  side.     But  men's  minds  had 
become  weary  with  contention,  and  it  was  held  desirable  at  all  events 
to  make  the  most  of  a  present  truce,  where  it  seemed  so  difficult  to 
come  to  a  true  and  lasting  peace.     The  result  of  all,  moreover,  had 
been  undoubtedly  a  partial  moderation  of  extreme  views  on  both  sides. 
It  was  felt,  more  widely  of  course  than  it  was  expressed,  that  Luther 
on  the  one  hand,  as  well  as  Zuingli  on  the  other,  had  gone  too  far ; 
and  that  the  truth  was  to  be  sought  in  a  middle  position,  rather  than 
with  either  of  these  champions  separately  considered.   Luther  himself 
probably  saw,  that  the  truce  involved  some  feeling  of  this  sort ;  and 
this  may  have  had  its  influence  on  the  effort,  with  which  he  sought 
toward  the  close  of  his  life  to  have  the  controversy  renewed.     The 
effort,  however,  produced  no  effect.     Ten  years  after  the  date  of  the 
Concord,  a.  1546,  he  was  taken  to  his  rest.     The  truce  still  continued. 
Many  flattered  themselves  that  it  had  become  in  fact  the  grave  of  all 
former  theological  hostilities.     But  this  expectation  was  vain.     The 
general  difference  of  the  two  confessions  had  not  yet  been  brought  to  a 
true  inward  reconciliation ;  and  the  question  was  too  important  to  be 
permanently  sacrificed  to  the  interests  of  any  mere  prudential  com- 
promise.    It  might  slumber  for  twenty  years ;  but  it  could  not  sleep 
always.     In  due  time,  accordingly,  the  truce,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
came  to  an  end.     We  may  find  much  to  quarrel  with  in  the  spirit  of 
those  who  led  the  way  in  the  new  rupture  that  followed.     But  the 
rupture  itself  was  necessary.     It  lay  in  the  religious  position  of  the 


16  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

age.     It  belonged  of  right,  we  may  say,  to  tlie  Mstory  of  the  Refor- 
mation. 

It  was  in  tlie  bosom  of  the  Lutheran  Churcli,  primarily,  that  the 
new  sacramental  war  was  engendered.  There  had  been  here,  since 
1536,  a  broad,  though  quiet,  and  to  a  great  extent  unconscious,  falling 
away  from  the  extreme  view  of  the  great  Reformer,  as  we  find  it  ex- 
pressed in  the  original  Augsburg  Confession.  Under  the  influence  of 
this  mitigated  sentiment,  Melancthon,  the  illustrious  author  of  the  Con- 
fession, had  allowed  himself,  in  1540,  as  all  the  world  knows,  to  change 
the  language  of  its  tenth  article,  on  the  subject  of  Christ's  presence  in 
the  eucharist ;  so  as  to  make  it  affirm  nothing  more  than  the  communi- 
cation of  his  body  and  blood  in  the  transaction,  instead  of  declaring 
them,  as  in  1530,  to  be  actually  under  the  form  of  the  bread  and  wine. 
In  this  way  the  article  had  come  to  be  held  very  extensively  in  a 
simply  Calvinistic  sense  (which  must  never  be  confounded,  however, 
with  the  sense  of  Zuingli) ;  and  Calvin  •  himself,  during  his  residence 
at  Strasburg,  had  no  difficulty  in  subscribing  to  the  Confession  in  such 
altered  form,  as  we  find  him  also,  while  there,  taking  part  in  the  general 
affairs  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  on  that  basis,  without  any  sort  of 
hesitation  whatever.  There  was  a  quiet  general  consent,  for  years,  to 
own  the  common  Lutheran  faith  of  Germany  in  this  broad  Melanctho- 
nian  view ;  and  it  is  easy  enough  to  see,  from  the  relations  in  which 
both  Frederick  II.  and  .Otho  Henry  stood  to  Melancthon  himself,  that 
this  was  the  only  type  into  which  it  was  intended  from  the  beginning 
to  cast  the  late-born  Protestantism  of  the  Palatinate.  It  was  to  be 
Lutheran ;  it  was  to  have  for  its  standard  the  Augsburg  Confession ; 
no  one  thought  of  anything  else ;  but  it  must  be  Lutheranism  in  the 
most  free  and  comprehensive  sense  of  the  term,  such  as  all  could  sub- 
scribe to  who  were  willing  to  take  the  Confession  in  its  author's  latest 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  17 

sense.  Sucli  were  tlie  circumstances,  we  say,  under  which  the  Palati- 
nate passed  over  to  the  Lutheran,  or  what  was  then  the  only  German 
Protestant  camp.  It  was,  however,  a  deceitful  calm.  The  spirit  of  the 
old  church  orthodoxy  was,  in  truth,  not  yet  by  any  means  extinct.  It 
existed  still  under  a  latent  form,  and,  as  the  event  proved,  in  great 
strength.  The  progress  of  more  liberal  views  only  served  to  rouse  it 
finally,  first  to  jealousy,  and  then  to  open,  violent  resistance.  It  needed 
thus  no  great  provocation,  in  the  end,  to  bring  on  a  second  grand  con- 
fessional strife,  altogether  more  general  and  fierce  than  the  first. 

The  signal  for  this  was  given  by  a  sort  of  trumpet  blast  on  the 
part  of  the  memorable  Lutheran  polemic,  Joachim  Wes'tpJial,  preacher 
in  Hamburg,  who  felt  himself  called,  in  the  year  1552,  to  sound  an 
alarm  throughout  Germany  against  the  errors  of  the  Swiss  Churches, 
in  a  special  tract  devoted  wholly  to  the  subject.  The  immediate  object 
of  this  assault  was  the  sacramental  theology  of  Switzerland,  especially 
as  represented  now  by  the  world-renowned  authority  of  Calvin ;  but 
the  true  secret  of  the  outbreak  lay  mainly,  no  doubt,  in  the  home  rela- 
tions of  the  German  Church  itself,  as  we  have  just  now  had  them  under 
consideration.  Westphal  was  but  the  organ  of  the  interest  he  repre- 
sented ;  the  interest,  namely,  of  Lutheran  orthodoxy  within  the  bosom 
of  the  Lutheran  Church,  in  its  first  show  of  violent  reaction  against  a 
tendency  in  the  Church  itself,  which  was  now  felt  to  threaten  its  own 
life  ;  and  it  was  some  consciousness  of  this,  unquestionably,  that  served 
to  inspire  him  with  confidence  and  courage,  in  the  daring  responsibility 
he  thus  ventured  to  assume  before  the  Christian  world.  As  it  wa«, 
the  war  cry  found  no  immediate  echo  or  response.  Men  seemed  to 
pause  in  anxious  suspense,  as  with  the  secret  feeling  that  they  had 
come  to  stand  on  the  eve  of  a  great  conflict,  whose  consequences  no 
one  could  calculate  or  foresee.  Westphal  renewed  his  attack  the  follow- 
3 


18  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

iüg  year,  in  a  second  publication ;  and  tlie  year  after  again,  in  a  third. 
Tlien  Calvin  came  out  upon  him  fiercely  in  self-defence.  Gradually  the 
fight  thickened,  and  grew  more  and  more  general.  It  was  no  longer 
Germany  at  war  with  Switzerland  ;  but  Germany  convulsed  with  the 
elements  of  discord  and  division  in  her  own  bosom.  In  every  direction 
the  land  was  agitated  with  ecclesiastical  strife,  carried  on  between 
those  who  claimed  to  be  true  Lutherans,  and  those  who  were  stigma- 
tized as  Crypto-Calvinists,  or  treacherous  Philippists,  all  beneath  the 
common  banner  of  the  Augsburg  Confession.  By  such  vast  critical 
process,  reaching  through  many  long  years  of  commotion,  were  the 
two  great  Protestant  schools  conducted  finally  to  the  full  sense  of  their 
own  original  diiference  and  distinction.  Lutheranism  became  conse- 
quentially complete  at  last  in  the  Form  of  Concord ;  and  the  faith  of 
the  Reformed  Church,  as  exhibited  in  the  several  Calvinistic  Confes- 
sions which  appeared  in  the  midst  of  this  controversy,  and  especially, 
we  may  say,  as  embodied  comprehensively  in  the  Heidelberg  Catechism., 
was  openly  acknowledged  in  large  sections  of  Germany,  where  the 
Reformed  Church  as  such  had  been  previously  unknown. 

Such  was  the  general  condition  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Germany 
when  the  banner  of  Protestantism  first  began  to  wave  triumphantly 
over  the  Palatinate.  This  was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  a  Lutheran  ban- 
ner ;  but  the  Lutheranism  it  represented,  as  we  have  seen,  was  that  of 
Melancthon  and  the  variated  form  of  the  Augsburg  Confession.  More 
than  this,  the  auspices  under  which  the  Protestantism  of  the  Palatinate 
took  form  and  shape  fi^om  the  beginning,  explain  the  matter  as  we 
may,  were  such  as  to -produce  a  certain  liberal  sympathy  with  the 
Reformation  as  it  existed  in  other  lands,  different  altogether  from  what 
was  then  the  reigning  sentiment  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  One  striking 
evidence  of  this  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  a  cordial  welcome  was  ex- 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  19 

tended  here  to  the  persecuted  exiles  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  the 
Netherlands,  England,  and  France,  when  all  Germany  besides  treated 
them  with  cold  indifference  or  cruel  scorn — some  even  going  so  far  as 
to  stigmatize  them  "martyrs  of  the  devil."  Friendly  relations  were 
cultivated  with  foreign  Protestants ;  men  of  acknowledged  Zuinglian 
and  Cahdnistic  views  were  openly  patronized,  and  put  into  places  of 
power  and  trust ;  and  altogether  the  idea  seemed  to  prevail,  that  the 
Church  of  the  Palatinate  was  called  to  hold  a  sort  of  irenical  middle 
position  between  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  communions,  where  it 
might  be  possible  for  both  to  come  together  at  last  in  the  bonds  of  a 
common  faith. 

The  times,  however,  were  unpropitious  to  any  such  thought  as  this. 
It  was  not  possible  that  the  confessional  war,  which  had  broken  out 
again  with  such  violence  in  Germany  generally,  should  not  force  its 
way  also  into  the  Palatinate.  The  very  liberty  of  faith  which  was 
enjoyed  there  seemed  rather  to  invite  it ;  as  it  made  room  for  the 
presence  of  all  factions,  and  the  free  utterance  of  all  opinions.  Luther- 
anism  was  there  of  course,  then,  in  its  rigid  temperament  and  type — 
uncompromising,  intolerant,  full  of  angry,  pugnacious  zeal — as  well  as 
Lutheranism  in  its  milder  Melancthonian  form.  Heidelberg  became  in 
fact  a  general  rendezvous  for  all  religious  parties ;  where  they  came 
together,  however,  not  as  had  been  fondly  hoped,  to  settle  terms  of 
amity  and  peace,  but  only  to  hold  promiscuous  fight,  as  on  a  common 
battle  field,  over  theii*  several  subjects  of  difference  and  division. 

FEEDERICK   THE   PIOUS. 

In  these  circumstances  it  was,  that  on  the  death  of  Otho  Henry,  in 
1559,  the  electoral  power  passed  into  the  hands  oi  Frederick  the  Third^ 


20  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

whose  honorable  distinction  it  is  to  be  known  in  history  under  the 
surname  of  the  Pious^  and  who  has  won  for  himself  at  the  same  time 
imperishable  renown  as  the  Father  of  ilie  Heidelberg  Catechism. 

"  With  right,"  exclaims  the  historian  of  the  Catechism,  Henry  Simon 
van  Alpen,  "  is  his  name  for  us  of  undying  memory ;  with  right  he 
shines  in  the  temple  of  immortality ;  with  right  the  most  distant  pos- 
terity weaves  a  garland  round  his  urn ;  and  when  this  also  may  wither, 
still  shall  not  his  merits  fade.  Even  when  we  think  away  the  prince, 
away  all  dignities  and  titles  of  honor,  away  purple,  sceptre,  and  king- 
dom, he  stands  before  us  still  incomparably  great.  For  educational 
and  charitable  foundations  he  did  more  than  all  his  predecessors.  He 
devoted  to  them  the  entire  proceeds  of  all  the  suppressed  convents. 
He  renounced  the  customary  pomp  of  courts,  loved  simplicity  of  man- 
ners, in  order  that  he  might  spend  fi'om  his  own  proper  revenue,  in  the 
service  of  learning  and  piety,  twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year.  With 
the  most  diligent  personal  application  he  tried  the  reigning  systems  of 
the  time,  and  then,  with  warm,  unwavering  zeal,  held  fast  what  he  had 
found  in  this  way  to  be  time." 

This  is  indeed  high  praise ;  but  from  all  that  we  know  of  the  man 
in  his  actual  history  and  work,  it  can  hardly  be  considered  extravagant. 
He  appears  to  have  been  in  all  respects  what  we  may  call  a  model 
prince ;  in  whom  the  most  excellent  mental  endowments  were  joined 
to  the  best  qualities  of  the  heart,  and  whose  whole  life  was  a  commen- 
tary on  his  wisdom  and  virtue.  His  religious  character  in  particular 
commanded  the  universal  respect  of  his  own  age,  as  it  has  been  the 
admiration  of  all  later  times.  Piety  with  him  was  no  empty  sentiment 
or  simply  outward  profession ;  it  formed  the  ruling  power  of  his  life ; 
and  as  has  been  well  remarked,  it  took  in  the  prince  no  less  than  the 
man.    There  was  no  ostentation  about  it ;  no  care  to  force  itself  into 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  21 

notice  and  respect ;  but  it  made  itself  felt  in  all  Ms  relations,  public  as 
well  as  private.  Others  might  make  tlieir  religion  secondary,  if  not 
altogether  ancillary  to  their  politics ;  with  Frederick  III.  politics,  and 
all  else,  must  bend  to  the  superior  claims  of  religion.  There  is  somö- 
thing  beautiful  indeed  in  the  childlike  simplicity  with  which  he  speaks 
of  his  princely  office  and  trust  in  this  view.  For  himself,  at  least,  his 
work  was  theocratic,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  tei-m.  He  was,  in  his 
own  eyes,  prince  and  ruler,  "  by  the  grace  of  God,"  in  order  that  he 
might  lead  his  people  in  the  way  of  righteousness,  asnd  show  himself  a 
true  "  nui'sing  father  "  to  the  Chui'ch. 

Coming  into  power  with  this  deep  sense  of  official  responsibility, 
there  was  enough  in  the  religious  condition  of  the  Palatinate  to  engage 
his  zeal,  as  a  reformer,  jfrom  the  very  beginning  of  his  administration. 
Theologically  and  ecclesiastically,  all  was  in  confusion.  Instead  of 
being  a  centre  of  union  and  peace,  Heidelberg  had  become  an  arena 
for  aU  sorts  of  discord  and  strife.  Zuinglians,  Calvinists,  Philippists, 
and  ultra  Lutherans,  all  sought  to  make  themselves  heard  and  felt. 
Confessional  schism  was  the  order  of  the  day,  in  city,  university,  and 
court.  Conspicuous  among  the  combatants,  in  particular,  were  the 
general  superintendent,  Hesshus,  and  IClehiZj  assistant  minister  in  the 
church  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  whose  contentions  seemed  to  threaten  for 
a  time  the  very  existence  of  both  Church  and  State.  Finding  more 
moderate  measures  for  the  promotion  of  peace  unavailing,  the  Elector 
had  recourse  finally  to  the  extremity  of  dismissing  them  both  from 
office  on  one  and  the  same  day ;  vainly  hoping  that  it  might  still  be 
possible,  in  this  way,  to  bring  about  a  general  union  of  parties  in  his 
land.  His  next  step,  accordingly,  was  to  propose  a  formula  of  faith  in 
regard  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  great  subject  of  controversy,  such  as 
all  might  be  able  to  accept  and  adopt,  and  which  would  serve  the 


22  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

purpose  of  preventing  future  dissension.  To  support  himself  in  this 
proposition,  he  called  in  the  counsel  of  Melancthon,  sending  a  special 
messenger  to  Wittenberg  to  lay  before  him  the  whole  case.  This  drew 
forth  the  celebrated  Judgment  of  Melancthon,  which  became  public 
soon  after,  when  he  had  himself  descended  to  the  grave,  and  served  to 
involve  his  memory  in  no  small  reproach  with  the  stiff  confessional 
party,  to  whose  views  it  was  found  to  be  opposed.  It  approved  the 
Elector's  course  in  silencing  the  sacramental  controversy,  and  recom- 
mended the  use  of  a  general  form  for  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  such  as  1  Cor.  x.  16,  which  would  offer  no  room  for  doubtful 
disputation.  The  counsel  was  gladly  received  and  followed ;  and  on 
this  basis  now,  matters  came  to  a  temporary  settlement  toward  the 
close  of  the  year  1559. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  however,  that  the  settlement  had  no 
tendency  whatever  to  produce  any  real  harmony  between  the  conflict- 
ing interests,  which  were  thus  bound  to  silence  and  peace.  Some  of 
the  more  rigid  Lutheran  ministers  found  it  necessary  to  give  up  their 
places ;  and  the  alarm  was  raised  from  the  outside,  led  off  in  particular 
by  the  exiled  Hesshus,  that  the  Elector  was  seeking  to  introduce 
Calvinism  into  the  Palatinate.  On  the  other  hand,  Frederick  himself 
could  not  fail  to  become  more  and  more  dissatisfied  with  the  tone  and 
spirit  of  the  extreme  Lutheran  party,  and  thus  more  and  more  con- 
firmed also,  of  course,  in  his  original  favorable  disposition  toward  the 
Reformed  Church.  Not  only  his  sympathies,  however,  but  his  studies 
also,  and  his  prayers — and  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  both  were  perse- 
veringly  earnest  and  sincere — contributed  to  lead  him  in  this  direction. 
The  effect  of  all  was,  that  having  surrounded  himself  with  congenial 
counsellors  and  helpers,  many  of  them  eminent  men  from  other  lands, 
he  determined  finally  to  carry  out  the  work  of  reformation  among 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  23 

his  people  in  a  way  to  suit  his  own  convictions  of  truth  and  right, 
without  any  ftu'ther  regard  to  impracticable  schemes  of  compromise 
and  union.  In  other  words,  he  made  up  his  mind,  that  the  religion 
of  the  Palatinate  should  be  ordered  and  established,  both  in  doctrine 
and  worship,  after  the  Reformed  type  in  general,  and  not  after  the 
Lutheran. 

This  brought  with  it  the  necessity  of  an  efficient  provision  for  the 
proper  education  of  a  ministry  suitable  to  the  new  condition  of  the 
Church.  Many  of  the  Lutheran  pastors  now  relinquished  their  charges, 
while  others  were  dismissed  for  their  refractory  turbulence.  There 
was  a  different  class  of  them  indeed,  more  or  less  conformable,  or  at 
least  not  contumaciously  dissenting,  who  were  allowed  to  retain  th^^'^ 
places.  Quite  a  niunber  of  ministers  besides  came  in  from  abroady^ 
either  followers  of  Melancthon,  from  different  parts  of  Germany,  or 
refugees  from  Belgium  and  other  neighboring  places.  But  the  case 
called  for  more  general  and  permanent  help.  .  New  care,  accordingly, 
was  bestowed  upon  the  university,  and  the  restoration  in  particular 
of  its  theological  faculty.  With  Peter  Boquin  here,  a  distinguished 
Calvinistic  professor,  previously  introduced  from  France,  were  asso- 
ciated now,  after  the  dismissal  of  Paul  Einhorn,  his  previous  Lutheran 
colleague,  the  distinguished  Hebrew  scholar  Immanuel  Tremellius^  an 
Italian  Jewish  convert  to  Catholicism,  who  had  afterward  embraced 
the  Protestant  faith  in  Switzerland,  and  Caspar  Olevianus,  whom 
Heidelberg  had  received  not  long  before  as  an  exile  from  the  city  of 
Treves.  New  life  also  was  infused  into  the  Sapienz-college,  as  a  school 
of  preparation,  especially  for  young  men  looking  to  the  holy  ministiy. 
Here  also  the  services  of  Olevianus  were  employed  for  a  time.  But 
the  care  of  it  soon  after  devolved  upon  Zacharias  Ursinus,  who  be- 
came the  successor  of  Olevianus  also,  as  professor  of  theology,  in  the 


24  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

"university;   the  popular  pulpit  powers  of  this  last  occasioning  his 
designation  to  a  diflerent  sphere  of  work. 

But  it  was  not  enough  to  settle  the  outward  scheme  of  religion  and 
worship  in  this  general  way,  and  to  provide  the  requisite  machinery 
for  carrying  it  on ;  the  true  idea  of  a  religious  reformation  required 
that  the  heart  and  life  of  the  people  generally  should  be  reached  and 
apprehended,  moulded  and  controlled  by  what  were  considered  to  be 
the  salutary  powers  of  the  Gospel  in  this  form.  It  speaks  well,  both 
for  the  wisdom  and  the  piety  of  Frederick,  that  his  mind  was  turned  to- 
ward this  object,  as  one  of  paramount  importance,  from  the  beginning. 
As  the  chief  shepherd  of  his  people,  in  a  political  sense,  he  felt  himself 
bound  to  care  for  their  spiritual  welfare  in  a  universal  view..  The 
condition  of  the  land,  in  this  respect,  called  for  help.  If  thei'e  had 
been  disorder  and  confusion  in  the  theological  world  of  the  Palatinate, 
there  was  disorder  and  confusion  no  less  in  its  general  congregational 
life.  No  fixed  system  -of  religious  instruction  prevailed ;  no  proper 
regard  was  had,  in  particular,  to  the  right  Christian  training  of  the 
young.  There  were  Catechisms  for  this  purpose,  indeed,  but  they  were 
not  clothed  with  any  public  authority ;  and  the  best  among  them,  those 
of  Luther  and  Brentz,  were  not  in  full  confessional  hannony  with  what 
had  become  now  the  reigning  faith  of  the  land.  In  place  of  these, 
some  ministers  used  formularies  of  their  own  composition ;  while  many 
gave  no  attention  to  the  subject  whatever.  Altogether,  it  would  seem, 
from  the  changes  and  distractions  through  which  the  land  had  passed, 
a  very  general  indifference  to  church  training  had  taken  possession  of 
the  congregations ;  while  such  training  as  there  was,  by  its  want  of 
consistency  and  uniformity,  might  be  said  to  be  shorn  of  more  than 
half  its  proper  worth.  All  this  Frederick  saw  and  felt ;  and  it  became 
with  him,  accordingly,  the  grand  object  of  his  reformatory  administra- 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  25 

tion  to  provide  a  practical  remedy  for  the  evil,  by  bringing  in  a  new 
Catechism^  the  general  use  of  which,  secured  by  proper  sanctions,  might 
serve  to  stamp  the  impress  of  a  common  popular  faith  on  the  whole 
religious  life  of  the  Palatinate. 

That  such  in  fact  were  the  views  of  this  great  and  good  prince  in 
undertaking  this  master  work  of  his  reign,  appears  plainly  enough 
from  the  introductory  preface,  written  with  his  own  hand,  which  ac- 
companied its  original  publication ;  a  document  so  wholly  character- 
istic of  the  man  and  his  position,  that  it  cannot  be  amiss  to  quote  it 
here  in  the  form  of  a  free  general  synopsis.  Beginning  with  a  saluta- 
tion "  to  all  and  every,  our  superintendents,  pastors,  preachers,  sacris- 
tans and  schoolmasters  of  our  Electoral  Palatinate  of  the  Khine,"  he 
goes  on  to  say  that  both  the  word  of  God  and  his  own  sense  of  natural 
duty  bound  him  to  use  the  trust  of  government,  which  God  had  placed 
in  his  hands,  not  only  so  as  to  consult  for  the  peaceful  welfare  of  his 
people,  by  promoting  among  them  a  sober,  upright,  and  virtuous  life ; 
"  but  also,  and  mainly,  to  lead  and  bring  them  continually  more  and 
more  to  the  sincere  knowledge  and  fear  of  the  Almighty,  and  of  His 
salutary  word,  as  the  only  foundation  of  all  virtue  and  obedience." 
His  predecessors,  of  happy  memory,  had  indeed  endeavored,  by  various 
Christian  ordinances  and  institutions,  to  secure  this  end ;  but  as  yet  no 
result  had  been  reached,  which  could  be  considered  fully  answerable  to 
the  wants  of  the  land.  Hence  he  felt  himself  called  upon,  not  simply 
to  renew  former  measures,  but  to  go  yet  farther  in  the  same  good  direc- 
tion. The  youth  of  his  land  in  particular,  he  adds,  might  be  said 
especially  to  suffer  from  a  defect  of  proper  religious  training,  both  in 
the  schools  and  in  the  parish  churches  ;  being  in  some  cases  altogether 
•neglected,  and  in  other  cases  taught  irregularly  from  various  Cate- 
chisms according  to  the  free  fancy  of  their  teachers,  and  after  no  estab- 
4 


26  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

lished  or  uniform  metliod ;  the  result  of  whicli  was  mucli  confusion 
and  deficiency  of  sound  religious  views.  Tliere  could  be,  however, 
"  no  steady  maintenance  of  either  Christian  or  worldly  office,  govern- 
ment and  administration,  also  no  increase  and  growth  of  sobriety, 
honesty,  and  all  other  good  virtues,  unless  the  young,  above  all  things, 
were  kept  and  held  from  the  start  to  the  pure  learning  of  the  holy 
Gospel,  and  the  right  knowledge  of  God,-  in  some  fixed  and  settled 
form."  He  had  considered  it,  therefore,  the  first  duty  of  his  Govern- 
ment, to  make  provision  for  this  most  necessary  object.  And  so  now, 
accordingly,  he  proceeds  to  say,  "  with  counsel  and  cooperation  of  our 
whole  theological  faculty,  here  present,  as  well  as  of  all  the  superin- 
tendents and  leading  ministers  of  the  Church,  we  have  caused  to  be 
made  and  set  forth,  both  in  the  German  and  Latin  tongues,  a  Summary 
Instruction^  or  Catechism,  of  om'  Christian  religion  from  the  "Word  of 
God;  in  order  that  henceforth  not  only  the  youth  may  be  piously 
trained  and  kept  to  such  doctrine  in  the  same  form,  but  that  the 
preachers  and  schoolmasters  also  may  themselves  have  a  sure  standing 
rule  and  measure,  how  to  conduct  themselves  in  the  instruction  of  the 
young,  and  not  presume  to  make  daily  changes,  or  to  bring  in  strange 
doctrine,  at  theii^  own  pleasure.  This  same  Catechism,  then,  ye  are 
all  and  every  one  of  you  graciously  exhorted  and  commanded,  for  the 
honor  of  God  and  our  subjects,  as  also  for  the  advantage  and  good  of 
your  own  souls,  tliaiikfully  to  receive ;  also  to  inculcate  it  diligently 
and  well,  according  to  its  true  sense,  on  the  young  in  churches  and 
schools,  as  likewise  on  the  people  generally  from  the  pulpit ;  to  teach, 
work,  and  live  according  to  it,  with  the  full  hope  and  confidence  that 
if  the  young  be  thus  taught  and  brought  up  with  earnestness  in  the 
Word  of  God,  the  Almighty  will  grant  unto  us  also  a  bettering  of  life, 
with  temporal  and  eternal  prosperity." 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  27 

We  cannot  say  mucli  for  the  literary  merits  of  tMs  remarkable 
State  paper.  It  is  not  written  with  rhetorical  grace  or  force.  But  as 
a  commentary  on  the  piety  of  the  prince,  and  a  monument  of  his  broad, 
far-seeing  political  wisdom,  it  is  deserving  certainly  of  all  admiration ; 
while  it  must  ever  be  of  the  greatest  interest  for  what  it  serves  to 
reveal,  of  the  spirit  that  presided  over  the  formation  of  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  from  the  very  beginning.  It  is  a  curious  exemplification  at 
the  same  time,  we  may  add,  of  the  Cesarean  episcopacy  of  the  Protes- 
tant German  States  in  the  age  of  the  Eeformation ;  Erastianism — as  it 
has  been  named,  from  the  distinguished  physician  Thomas  Emstus^  a 
leading  politico-ecclesiastical  counsellor  in  Frederick's  court — exhibited 
here  in  its  most  respectable  form. 

TJESINUS   AND  'OLEVIAlTrS. 

Having  resolved  on  the  introduction  of  a  new  Catechism,  Freder- 
ick's next  care  was  to  select  suitable  persons  for  the  solemnly  respon- 
sible task  of  its  composition.  His  choice,  however,  was  soon  made, 
and,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  result,  with  great  wisdom.  It  fell,  as  is 
well  known,  on  Caspar  Olevianus  and  Zachaeias  ÜESimis.  There 
is  something  striking  at  once  in  this  choice.  They  were  both  young 
men,  the  first  but  twenty-six,  the  other  only  twenty-eight  years  of  age ; 
and  both  of  them,  though  by  birth  and  education  Germans,  were  still 
comparatively  strangers  in  the  Palatinate,  who  had  been  called  to  the 
service  of  the  Church  there  from  abroad  only  a  short  time  before. 
These  are  circumstances  which  at  first  blush  seem  not  to  look  well  for 
the  Elector's  judgment ;  but  rightly  considered,  they  go  rather  to  form 
a  strong  presumption  in  its  favor.  With  the  vast  sense  he  had  of  the 
responsibility  of  his  undertaking,  as  the  one  grand  work  of  his  reign, 


28  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

it  is  not  to  be  conceived  tliat  lie  could  select  Ms  instruments  for  it 
without  care ;  and  Ms  general  reputation  for  wisdom  may  be  taken 
as  a  guaranty,  tHat  Ms  care  in  the  case  would  be  exercised  to  good 
purpose  and  with  sure  effect.  The  choice  of  these  young  strangers,  in 
preference  to  all  others — not  made,  we  may  be  sure,  without  the  con- 
senting counsel  of  the  eminent  men  who  stood  around  him  as  advisers, 
both  in  Church  and  State — may  be  regarded  as  itself  the  best  proof 
probably  we  could  have,  in  the  circumstances,  that  the  designation 
was  the  result  of  full  circumspection  and  mature  thought.  Only  so 
can  we  understand  how,  in  such  a  case,  a  man  like  Frederick  III.  could 
make  at  all  an  appointment  of  this  sort. 

Zacharias  Ursinus  (family  name  Bear)  was  born  at  Breslau,  in 
Silesia,  on  the  18th  of  July,  1534.  His  family  connections  were 
MgHy  respectable,  though  his  -father's  house  stood  in  somewhat 
reduced  circumstances.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  was  sent  to  the 
university  at  Wittenberg ;  where  he  spent  seven  years  as  a  student, 
supported  in  part  at  least  by  an  honorary  stipend  from  his  native 
town.  During  this  period,  he  made  great  acquirements  in  classical 
literature,  philosophy,  and  theology.  He  was  considered,  besides, 
quite  a  master  of  poetry ;  and  composed  himself  various  productions 
in  Latin  and  Greek  verse,  which  were  much  admired,  Melancthon, 
the  ornament  of  the  university,  conceived  a  very  high  regard  for 
his  abilities  and  attainments,  and  admitted  him  to  an  intimate  per- 
sonal friendship  which  continued  to  the  end  of  his  own  life.  This 
of  itself  forms  one  of  the  best  recommendations  we  could  possibly 
have  of  the  character  of  Ursinus.  In  the  year  1557,  he  accompa- 
nied his  illustrious  preceptor  to  the  conference  at  Worms ;  after 
which,  to  extend  his  knowledge  of  the  world,  he  travelled  to 
Heidelberg,  Strasburg,  Basel;   and  then  still  farther  through  Swit- 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  29 

zerland  to  Lausanne  and  Geneva.  Next  we  find  Mm  in  France, 
visiting  Orleans  and  Paris ;  from  wliicli  last  place,  however,  lie  soon 
returned  again  to  Switzerland,  finding  special  satisfaction,  it  seems, 
in  his  intercourse  with  the  Reformed  theologians  of  that  country. 
On  his  return  to  Wittenberg  the  following  year,  1558,  he  received 
a  call  from  the  magistracy  of  his  native  city  to  the  rectorship  of 
its  principal  school,  the  Elizabethan  gymnasium.  Here  his  services 
gave  great  satisfaction.  But  the  confessional  feud  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  was  now  at  work  in  Breslau  also,  as  in  other  places.  There 
was  a  Melancthonian  interest  in  the  city,  and  on  the  other  hand  a 
powerful  faction  breathing  the  spirit  of  such  men  as  Westphal  and 
Hesshus.  It  soon  came  out  from  his  lectures,  that  Ursinus  was 
of  one  mind  with  his  preceptor  and  friend,  if  not  indeed  more 
latitudinarian  still,  on  the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament.  This  brought 
upon  him  the  odious  reproach  of  Calvinism ;  so  that  he  found  himself 
compelled,  in  self  defence,  to  publish  a  tract  on  the  subject — the 
ability  of  which,  we  are  told,  called  forth  the  warm  admiration  of 
Melancthon.  But  the  general  state  of  things  continued  to  be  un- 
pleasant ;  and  the  youthful  theologian  made  up  his  mind  at  length, 
to  resign  his  situation,  and  withdraw  from  the  place.  He  was 
allowed  to  retire  with  an  honorable  dismission,  which  expressed  the 
hope  that  the  city  of  his  birth  might  enjoy  his  services  again  at 
some  future  time.     This  took  place  on  the  26th  of  April,  1560. 

He  was  at  no  loss  now  in  what  direction  to  turn  his  pilgrim 
steps.  "  I  will  betake  me,"  he  said,  "  to  the  Zürichers ;  whose  repu- 
tation is  not  indeed  great  here,  but  who  have  so  famous  a  name 
with  other  Churches,  that  it  cannot  be  obscured  by  our  preachers. 
They  are  pious,  thoroughly  learned  men,  with  whom  I  have  resolved 
to   spend   my   life.      God   will   provide   for   the   rest."      To   Zurich, 


30  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

accordingly,  lie  came  early  in  the  montli  of  October.  Here  lie  met 
again  his  former  fiiends,  Bnllinger  and  Peter  Martyr,  surrendering 
himself  to  this  last  in  particular  as  his  theological  guide  and  instruc- 
tor. But  his  stay  in  Zurich  was,  after  all,  only  of  short  duration; 
and  it  was  through  the  intervention  of  Peter  Martyr  precisely,  that 
it  was  brought  unexpectedly  to  an  end. 

Frederick  III.  had  conceived  a  great  veneration  for  this  aged 
servant  of  God,  and  wdshed  to  secure  his  aid  in  carrying  forward 
the  reformation  of  the  Palatinate.  Martyr  felt  himself  too  old  to 
undertake  any  such  service,  and  declined  the  call  to  Heidelberg,  as 
he  had  just  before  declined  a  similar  invitation  from  England.  In 
doing  so,  however,  he  took  occasion  to  direct  the  attention  of  the' 
Elector  to  his  youthful  friend  and  disciple,  Zacharias  Ursinus ;  and 
the  result  of  all  this  was  a  negotiation,  which  ended  in  the  removal 
of  this  last  from  Zurich  to  Heidelberg.  Here  he  became  settled,  in 
the  course  of  the  year  1561,  as  a  professor  in  the  theological  faculty 
of  the  university,  and  as  principal  at  the  same  time  of  the  Sapienz- 
college. 

He  is  represented  as  having  been  a  man  of  much  modesty ;  quiet, 
though  at  the  same  time  ardent,  and  even  passionate,  in  his  natural 
spirit;  uncommonly  assiduous  and  laborious  in  the  prosecution  of 
his  proper  work.  He  had  no  talent  for  preaching;  but  as  an 
academic  lecturer,  he  was  in  a  high  degree  popular;  being  distin- 
guished for  his  solidity,  fulness  of  learning,  and  happy  power  of 
communication. 

Caspar  Olevianus  (vernacularly  Olewig),  born  August  10,  1536, 
of  well-conditioned  parents,  in  the  city  of  Treves,  after  passing 
through  different  schools  in  his  native  place,  was  sent  in  his  four- 
teenth year  to  Paris,  to  complete  his  education.     His  studies  were 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  31 

continued  subsequently  at  Bourges,  with  special  reference  to  the 
profession  of  law ;  but  here  an  awakening  providence,  as  in  the 
case  of  Luther,  determined  him  suddenly  to  the  service  of  religion 
and  the  Church.  One  of  his  fellow  students  at  Bourges  was  a  son 
of  Count  Frederick  of  Simmern  (afterward  Frederick  III.  of  the 
Palatinate),  a  young  prince  of  great  promise,  with  whom  he  had 
formed  a  very  intimate  friendship.  As  they  were  walking  together 
one  day  on  the  bank  of  a  neighboring  river,  they  fell  in  with  some 
drunken  German  students,  of  noble  rank,  who  proposed  to  cross 
the  stream  in  a  boat.  Olevianus  tried  hard  to  dissuade  them  from 
the  rash  undertaking ;  but  they  were  not  to  be  turned  from  their 
fi^olic,  and  the  young  prince  was  induced  to  become  one  of  their 
party.  In  the  middle  of  the  river  they  set  themselves  to  rocking 
the  boat  in  mad  play,  till  at  last  it  turned  over,  and  all  of  them 
found  a  watery  grave.  Olevianus,  from  the  shore,  threw  himself 
into  the  flood  for  the  purjDose  of  saving  his  friend;  but  it  was 
only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  he  was  himself  rescued  from 
being  drowned.  The  occasion  proved  a  crisis  for  his  religious  life. 
Previously  to  this,  he  had  been  led  secretly  to  embrace  the  Reformed 
faith  in  France ;  but  now,  "  out  of  the  depths,"  and  as  it  were  from 
the  very  jaws  of  death,  he  bound  his  soul  by  a  vow  to  become  an 
open  confessor  of  the  same  faith,  by  devoting  himself  to  the  service 
of  the  Gospel  in  his  native  land. 

He  took  his  degree  afterward,  indeed,  as  doctor  of  civil  law, 
and  returned  home  in  that  character.  But  his  heart  was  no  lono;er 
in  the  profession ;  he  looked  upon  himself  as  one  consecrated  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry;  and  it  became  his  great  object  now  to 
qualify  himself,  by  proper  studies,  for  this  vocation.  His  admira- 
tion  of  Calvin   led   him  for  this   purpose  to  Geneva.     Then  again 


32  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION". 

we  find  Mm  at  Zuricli  witli  Peter  Martyr,  at  Lausanne  with  Theodore 
Beza,  and  afterward  once  more  in  Geneva;  where  he  now  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  that  ardent  herald  of  the  cross  "William  Farel, 
who  urged  him  to  cut  short  his  studies  and  get  home  as  soon  as 
possible  to  preach.  Not  long  after.  May,  1559,  he  returned  in  fact 
to  Treves,  being  then  in  the  twenty-third  year  of  his  age. 

Here  he  obtained  at  once  an  appointment  to  the  charge  of  a 
school ;  which  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  instilling  into  the  minds 
of  his  pupils  the  principles  of  evangelical  religion.  A  month  later, 
we  find  him  venturing  a  sermon  openly  before  the  people  in  favor 
of  the  Reformation.  The  cause  had  already  won  many  secret  friends 
in  the  place,  among  whom  were  some  of  the  magistrates  and  other 
leading  citizens.  The  preaching  of  Olevianus  was  full  of  inflamma- 
tory zeal,  and  attended  with  vast  popular  effect.  As  a  matter  of 
course,  it  called  forth  violent  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  reigning 
religion.  Treves  was  thrown  into  universal  commotion.  In  the  end, 
the  leaders  of  the  evangelical  party,  with  Olevianus  at  their  head, 
were  thrown  into  prison ;  from  which  they  were  set  free,  only  after 
much  negotiation,  at  the  end  of  ten  weeks,  under  the  condition  of 
a  heavy  fine  and  immediate  banishment  from  the  city.  Thus  ended 
the  episode  of  the  Reformation  at  Treves,  after  a  few  months  of 
stormy  success.  It  was  a  complete  victory  for  the  Roman  Church; 
the  memory  of  which  is  kept  up  in  the  place  to  this  day  by  the 
observance  of  what  is  called  the  Olevian  Procession  on  Whit- 
monday,  to  'thank  God  for  this  deliverance  from  the  heresy  of 
Olevianus,  and  to  confirm  the  good  city  of  Treves  year  after  year 
in  the  Catholic  faith. 

Driven  thus  from  his  native  city,  Olevianus  was  at  once  welcomed 
by  Frederick  III.  into  the  service  of  the  Church  at  Heidelberg.     Here 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  33 

we  find  him  at  work,  in  the  year  1560,  in  the  Sapienz-college,  and 
somewhat  later  in  the  theological  faculty  also  of  the  university ;  from 
both  of  which  situations,  however,  as  we  have  already  seen,  he  was 
relieved  the  following  year  by  Ursinus,  whose  talents  more  especially 
fitted  him  for  such  academic  service,  while  it  seemed  desirable  to  make 
use  of  the  peculiar  gifts  of  Olevianus  in  a  more  practical  and  popular 
way.  By  general  consent,  he  was  called  to  occupy  the  pulpit,  first  in  St. 
Peter's  church,  as  it  was  called,  and  then  in  the  church  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

AUTHORSHIP   OF   THE   HEIDELBEEG    CATECHISM. 

Such  were  the  men  to  whom  the  Elector  intrusted  the  responsible 
task  of  preparing  his  new  Catechism  for  the  Palatinate.  If  we  have 
reason  to  be  struck  with  the  fact  of  their  appointment  to  so  grave  an 
office,  we  shall  find  no  less  occasion  for  surprise  in  considering  the  way 
in  which  the  appointment  was  fulfilled. 

It  is  something  wonderful,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  Catechism 
should  be  in  fact  the  production  of  two  authors  ;  for  it  appears  to  be 
certain,  that  the  double  authorship  in  this  case  was  of  the  most  real 
and  positive  character,  involving  throughout  not  simply  an  outward, 
but  a  true  inward  cooperation  also,  which  it  is  curious  to  note, 
and  by  no  means  easy  to  understand.  The  Catechism  was  not  the 
work  of  Ursinus,  approved  by  Olevianus,  nor  on  the  other  hand  the 
work  of  Olevianus,  approved  by  Ursinus ;  it  was  the  joint  production 
of  both ;  and  it  was  this,  not  in  the  way  of  any  mechanical  putting 
together  of  their  different  contributions  to  the  work,  but  in  the  way 
rather  of  an  organic  fusion,  which  refers  the  whole  work  to  both 
authors,  and  makes  it  impossible  to  know  or  say,  what  in  it  belongs  to 
one  and  what  to  the  other.  This  curious  fact,  moreover,  becomes  still 
5 


34  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

more  curious,  wlien  regard  is  had.  to  the  difference  of  temperament  and 
nature,  wLicli  we  know  to  have  existed  between  the  two  men.  They 
were  in  many  respects  constitutionally  unlike  each  other,  and  formed 
to  move  in  different  spheres  of  thought  and  life.  Ursinus  stands  out 
before  us  as  one  born  to  occupy  the  lecturer's  chair,  didactic,  dialectic, 
theoretic,  and  we  may  add  respectably  dry.  In  Olevianus,  on  the 
other  hand,  we  have  the  man  of  action  and  eloquence,  the  practical 
reformer,  the  ardent  popular  preacher,  in  whom  imagination  and  pathos 
combined  to  clothe  the  logic  of  religion  with  beauty  as  well  as  power. 
They  seem  not  such  men,  as  one  would  have  expected  to  get  along 
harmoniously  altogether  in  a  work  of  this  sort.  And  yet,  strange  to 
say,  their  difference  of  mind  and  spirit  appears  to  have  formed  no  bar 
whatever  to  the  execution  here  of  then-  joint  commission.  Their  con- 
joint labors  were  in  truth  perfectly  harmonious ;  and  what  is  most 
remarkable  of  all,  they  seem  to  have  been  so  blended  together,  that 
the  distinctive  characters  of  the  men  are  as  it  were  poured  into  the 
very  constitution  of  their  work ;  so  that  it  is  ■  hardly  too  much  to  say, 
that  we  may  find  the  spirit  of  Ursinus  married  to  the  spirit  of  Olevi- 
anus in  the  whole  composition  of  the  Catechism,  from  beginning  to  end. 
Everywhere  you  have  the  didactic  severity  of  the  one,  and  the  pathetic 
unction  of  the  other,  combined  and  joined  together  in  a  way  that  is 
altogether  peculiar  and  strange.  Such  as  it  is,  the  Catechism  could 
not  have  been  the  separate  production  of  either  Olevianus  or  Ursinus. 
It  needed  their  joint  authorship  to  be  what  it  is  in  fact. 

With  all  this  must  be  joined  now,  in  the  second  place,  the  consider- 
ation that  the  whole  work  was  planned  and  executed  within  the  course 
of  less  than  a  single  year.  It  was  the  will  of  the  Prince  that  his 
favorite  measure  for  the  reformation  of  the  Palatinate,  should  as  quickly 
as  possible  be  carried  into  effect ;  and  the  men  who  were  charged  with 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION".  35 

tlie  preparation  of  the  Catechism  went  to  work,  accordingly,  with  a 
haste  which  seemed  hardly  compatible  with  the  solemnity  and  great- 
ness of  their  undertaking.  The  joint  composition  of  the  book,  which 
we  have  found  to  be  so  surprising  in  any  view,  becomes  in  these 
circumstances  still  more  strange ;  since  it  would  appear  to  have  been 
not  so  much  the  result  of  long  deliberation  and  care,  as  a  sort  of  genial 
inspiration  rather,  moving  immediately  and  directly  to  its  end ;  a  thing 
truly  wonderful,  as  involving  here  not  a  single  mind  only,  but  two 
minds  of  such  different  make  and  type. 

We  must  not,  however,  fall  into  the  error  of  supposing,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  the  free  spontaneous  production  of  the  Catechism,  in 
this  way,  went  forward  in  purely  subjective  style,  without  study  and 
the  proper  use  of  previously  existing  material  and  help.  We  know 
the  reverse  of  this  to  have  been  true.  Full  regard  was  had  to  older 
Catechisms,  especially  such  as  had  appeared  in  different  parts  of  the 
Reformed  Church ;  and  it  is  very  easy  to  trace  in  the  new  formulary 
the  influence  in  particular  of  Calvin's  Catechism,  and  of  that  composed 
by  the  celebrated  Lasky.  In  the  way  of  preparation  for  their  joint 
work,  moreover,  each  of  the  two  fellow-laborers  put  his  hand  in  the 
first  place  to  a  separate  private  composition  in  catechetical  form : 
Olevianus,  in  a  free,  popular  sketch,  framed  on  his  favorite  idea  of  the 
Covenant  of  Grace ;  Ursinus,  in  a  twofold,  larger  and  smaller,  Cate- 
chesis,  setting  forth  the  rudiments  of  the  Christian  religion.  Out  of 
such  learning  and  diligent  study  grew  forth  in  the  end  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  as  we  have  it  now  ;  and  yet,  with  all  this,  it  is  no  compila- 
tion simply  from  these  sources.  It  cannot  be  said  to  be  outwardly 
taken  even  from  the  preliminary  separate  productions  of  its  own 
authors,  as  little  as  it  shows  itself  to  have  been  borrowed  in  any  such 
outward  way  from  the  Catechisms  of  Lasky  and  Calvin.     Full  use  is 


36  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

made  in  it  indeed  of  the  material  wticli  was  tlius  provided  for  its 
service ;  but  it  is  easy  to  see  that  this  use  was  not  slavish  but  free. 
When  it  came  to  the  joint  production,  all  was  brought  to  take  in  some 
way  a  new,  original,  and  independent  shape.  The  Catechism  has  thus 
a  fresh  life  of  its  own,  and  deserves  to  be  considered  a  true  spiritual 
creation,  in  which  form  and  matter  unite  themselves  throughout  to 
produce  the  conception  of  a  single  harmonious  whole. 

What  part  precisely  each  of  the  two  authors  took  in  the  formation 
of  the  work,  seems  to  be  altogether  uncertain.  It  has  been  common 
to  refer  its  ultimate  formal  composition  exclusively  to  Ursinus ;  but 
there  is  evidence  enough  in  the  structure  of  the  publication  itself,  that 
this  supposition  is  by  no  means  correct.  The  hand  of  Olevianus 
appears  not  unfrequently  in  the  language  and  style  of  the  Catechism, 
as  truly  as  his  spirit  breathes  in  its  thoughts.  Ursinus  wrote  his 
preliminary  Catachesis,  it  must  be  remembered,  in  Latin ;  whereas  the 
original  composition  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  was  in  German ;  and 
its  German  unquestionably  is  not  so  much  in  the  manner  of  Ursinus,  as 
it  resembles  rather  the  more  easy  and  fluent  popular  style  of  Olevianus. 

The  Elector  Frederick  is  said  to  have  taken  a  direct  interest 
himself  in  the  whole  progress  of  the  work,  even  assisting  occasion- 
ally in  the  way  of  suggestion  or  advice;  so  near  did  it  lie  to  his 
heart.  The  circumstance  deserves  notice,  not  of  course  as  being  of 
any  account  for  the  character  of  the  Catechism,  but  as  it  serves  to 
illustrate  the  character  of  the  Prince. 

PUBLICATION   OF   THE   CATECHISM. 

As  soon  as  the  work  was  complete,  toward  the  close  of  the  year 
1562,  the  Elector  called  together   a   Synod    of  the   superintendents 


HISTORICAL  mXRODUCTIOISr.  37 

and  principal  pastors  of  tlie  Palatinate  at  Heidelberg,  to  whom  it 
was  submitted  in  form  for  examination  and  trial.  The  examination 
proved  altogether  satisfactory ;  the  new  formulary  was  not  only 
approved,  but  applauded ;  and  a  request  was  made  to  have  it  pub- 
lished at  once,  by  authority  of  the  government,  for  general  use. 
At  the  same  time,  it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  two  competent 
scholars,  Joshua  Lagus  and  Lambertus  Pithopoeus,  to  be  translated 
into  Latin,  for  the  higher  seminaries  and  schools.  Not  long  after 
accordingly,  with  the  opening  of  the  following  year,  the  work  made 
its  appearance  from  the  press  in  both  languages,  German  and  Latin, 
"printed  in  the  Electoral  City  of  Heidelberg,"  and  introduced  with 
the  Elector's  memorable  preface,  bearing  date,  "  Tuesday,  the  nine- 
teenth day  of  the  month  January,  in  the  year  of  our  dear  Lord  and 
Saviour  Christ  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-three."  Both 
the  German  and  the  Latin  impressions  may  be  considered  original 
editions ;  but  the  true  original  and  properly  authentic  text  is  of 
com'se  only  the  German,  from  which  the  other  was  a  mere  trans- 
lation, and  in  which,  as  it  has  been  long  ago  remarked,  all  is  not 
only  more  beautiful,  but  more  impressive  also  and  emphatic. 

It  is  generally  known  that  the  first  printed  forms  of  the  Catechism 
exhibited  a  remarkable  variation  in  regard  to  the  famous  80th  ques- 
tion, on  the  ground  of  which  it  has  been  generally  supposed  in 
later  times  that  it  passed  almost  immediately  through  three  different 
editions.  Copies  of  the  work  in  its  first  style  are  extant,  for  ex- 
ample, in  which  the  conclusion  of  this  question  is  given  differently, 
while  they  refer  at  the  same  time  to  a  previous  impression,  with  this 
strange  note  on  the  last  page :  "  What  was  overlooked  (übersehen) 
in  the  first  print,  in  particular  folio  55,  has  now  been  added  by  com- 
mand of  his  Electoral  Grace."     The  page  referred  to  is  that  which 


38  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

contains  tlie  80tli  question,  in  which  a  comparison  is  drawn  between 
the  Lord's  Supper  and  the  Koman  Mass.  The  difference  in  these 
copies  is,  that  in  some  the  closing  malediction  appears  in  full,  as  it 
now  stands,  whereas  in  others  it  lacks  the  clause,  "  and  an  accursed 
idolatrij^^  stopping  short  with  the  words  which  go  before.  Connecting 
this  variation  with  what  is  said  of  the  "oversight"  of  a  previous 
print,  we  do  seem  indeed  at  first  sight  to  have  three  different  editions 
of  the  Catechism. 

There  has  been,  however,  a  curious  mystification  here  again,  in 
.  ^'^regard  to  the  supposed  peculiarity  of  the  first  edition — proceeding,  no 
'  ^  >  doubt,  from  the  somewhat  ambiguous  meaning  of  the  word  übersehen 
^_1  O^as  applied  to  it  in  the  notice  just  quoted.  Henry  Alting,  in  the  first 
^^^  place,  in  his  Historia  de  Eccles.  Palat.^  falls  strangely  enough  into  the 
error  of  supposing,  that  the  80th  question  did  not  appear  in  the  first 
edition  of  the  Catechism  at  all,  but  "  was  added  and  inserted  in  its 
place  "  immediately  after,  in  a  second  edition,  by  special  command  of 
the  Elector.  Köcher,  in  his  Catechetical  History  of  the  Keformed 
Church,  has  also  this  view,  telling  us,  on  the  authority  not  only  of 
Alting  but  of  Ludovicus  Fabricius  also,  that  the  80th  question  "  for 
unknown  and  hardly  to  be  discovered  reasons"  was  left  out  of  the 
first  edition,  and  referring  us  at  the  same  time  to  the  note  at  the  end 
of  the  second  edition  as  of  itself  proving  the  truth  of  the  statement ; 
although  he  finds  himself  embarrassed  again  in  his  notion  of  only  two 
editions,  by  the  fact  of  that  other  variation  which  has  been  mentioned 
as  holding  among  different  copies  of  what  was  taken  to  be  the  second 
edition ;  a  difficulty,  which  throws  him  finally  upon  the  conjecture, 
that  the  change  in  question  was  made  while  this  edition  was  going 
through  the  press,  so  as  to  make  a  difference  in  the  copies.  Van 
Alpen  again,  in  his  History  of  the  Catechism,  follows  in  the  same 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  39 

track ;  seeming  to  think  tkat  tke  80tli  question  was  at  first  dropped 
from  the  manuscript  as  originally  prepared,  through  fear  of  giving 
offence,  but  that  the  Elector  came  afterward  to  have  more  courage, 
and  ordered  it  to  be  printed ;  though  it  needed  still  a  thii'd  edition,  it 
would  seem  then,  to  bring  him  fairly  up  to  the  point  of  rounding  it 
off  as  it  now  stands.  The  late  work  of  Sudhoff  also  on  Olevianus 
and  Ursinus,  strange  to  say,  repeats  the  old  mistake. 

But  this  whole  difficulty  with  the  first  issue  of  the  Catechism  is 
known  now  to  be  imaginary  and  gratuitous.  Copies  are  still  extant 
to  show  that  there  was  indeed  such  an  issue,  differing  from  what  are 
called  the  second  and  third  editions ;  but  the  difference  is  not  in  any 
such  hiatus  as  would  be  created  by  the  entii-e  absence  of  the  80th 
question.  The  question,  in  fact,  appears  there  in  its  place ;  only  it  stops 
short  with  the  proper  objective  representation  of  its  subject,  without 
going  on  to  denounce  the  Mass  as  a  "  denial  of  the  one  sacrifice  and 
sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ  and  an  accursed  idolatry."  This  bitter 
execration,  as  we  may  call  it,  came  out  in  later  issues,  first  in  part 
only,  and  then  in  full  form  as  we  have  it  now ;  occasioning  thus  three 
different  phases  of  the  80th  question,  and  so  three  different  impressions 
in  fact  of  the  Catechism.  Köcher's  conjecture  in  regard  to  the  second 
variation,  then,  may  be  easily  applied  also  to  the  first,  and  offers  us  no 
doubt  the  true  key  for  the  proper  explanation  of  the  whole  matter. 
The  thi-ee  impressions  are  in  fact  so  many  varieties  only  of  one  and 
the  same  issue,  which  was  subjected  to  two  different  changes  in 
passing  through  the  press,  so  as  to  give  the  addition  to  the  80th 
question,  first  in  part,  and  then  in  full  as  it  now  stands.  The  addi- 
tion belongs  of  course  to  the  Elector ;  and  the  reason  which  has  been 
assigned  for  it  is  in  all  probability  correct,  the  provocation  namely 
with  which  he  was  affected,  on  hearing  of  the  anathemas  which  the 


40  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Council  of  Trent  had  pronounced  not  long  before  against  the  Prot- 
estants. He  felt  it  necessary,  it  seems,  in  his  great  displeasure,  to 
stop  the  press  twice,  in  order  that  he  might  hurl  back  his  ban  upon 
the  Catholics  in  somewhat  of  the  same  style. 

In  any  view  the  appendix,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  was  in  bad  taste  ; 
and  it  proved  to  be  afterward  for  the  Reformed  Church  of  the 
Palatinate  a  source  of  no  small  trouble  and  harm.  In  the  social  and 
religious  changes  through  which  the  country  was  called  to  pass,  it 
became  the  occasion  for  much  reproach  and  strife,  and  finally  for  such 
open  hostility  as  threatened  for  a  time  to  destroy  not  only  the  use  of 
the  Catechism  itself,  but  the  rights  and  liberties  also  of  the  whole 
Church,  of  whose  faith  it  w"as  the  acknowledged  standard  and  symbol. 

In  this  first  threefold  issue  of  the  Catechism,  the  questions  were 
not  numbered ;  the  biblical  proof  passages,  which  formed  an  original, 
distinguishing  peculiarity  of  the  work,  were  cited  by  chapters  only, 
not  verses ;  and  there  was  no  division  of  any  sort  into  lessons.  Before 
the  end  of  the  same  year,  however,  it  appeared  again  in  the  new 
Kirchen  Ordnung  (Church  Directory),  printed  at  Mosbach,  arranged 
and  divided  in  the  manner  of  later  times.  The  first  separate  edition 
in  this  form  belongs,  we  are  told,  to  the  year  15 V3. 

No  time  was  lost  in  bringing  the  new  religious  text  book  into  use. 
It  was  not  considered  by  any  means  enough  to  have  it  prepared  and 
published  by  authority ;  it  was  intended  to  have  it  wrought  into  the 
very  life  of  the  people,  that  it  might  give  form  and  shape,  unity  and 
harmony,  to  their  general  faith ;  and  no  pains  were  spared  now,  accord- 
ingly, to  bring  it  into  universal,  vigorous  practical  use.  It  was  to  be 
a  book  in  every  way  for  the  whole  people.  We  have  seen  how  the 
Elector,  in  this  view,  solemnly  committed  it  in  the  beginning  to  the 
ministers  of  education  and  religion,  charging  them  to  make  use  of  it 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  41 

constantly  and  diligently  in  their  work.  The  new  Kirchenordnung  of 
1563  was  so  framed  as  to  make  it  an  integral  part,  the  very  ground 
and  basis  we  may  say,  of  the  whole  church  system  of  the  Palatinate. 

The  pulpit  must  be  bound  by  it  as  a  perpetual  directory  and  rule. 
Preaching  was  to  be  indeed  from  the  Bible,  the  only  sufficient  standard 
in  the  end  of  faith  and  practice ;  but  it  must  be  from  the  Bible,  at  the 
same  time,  in  the  sense  of  the  Catechism,  and  care  must  be  taken  to 
quote  and  bring  in  the  language  of  the  Catechism,  to  enforce  and 
support  the  preaching,  as  well  as  to  make  the  formulary  itself  honor- 
able in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  In  any  case,  moreover,  the  pastors  of 
the  Palatinate  were  not  to  have  general  liberty  to  preach  from  any 
part  of  the  Bible,  at  their  own  pleasure  ;  for  how  was  it  to  be  supposed 
that  they  could  all  use  such  freedom  to  proper  edification  ?  They 
must  keep  themselves  to  such  parts  as  were  sanctioned  and  ordered  by 
the  inspectors  or  superintendents  of  the  ecclesiastical  districts  to  which 
they  belonged,  whose  province  it  was  to  see  that  the  true  interests  of 
the  people  were  rightly  consulted  in  the  matter.  Then  the  Catechism, 
besides,  must  be  formally  read  before  the  people  from  the  pulpit,  a 
prescribed  section  or  lesson  on  each  Sunday,  as  part  of  the  morning 
service,  so  as  to  go  over  the  whole  of  it  once  every  ten  weeks.  To 
crown  all,  an  afternoon  service  was  established  for  the  sole  object  of 
expounding  and  enforcing  its  instructions.  For  this  purpose  it  was 
divided  into  fifty-two  Sundays,  or  parts,  on  each  one  of  which  the 
minister  was  to  preach  in  succession,  until  he  had  gone,  in  this  way, 
during  the  course  of  the  year,  over  the  whole  book.  Catechetical 
preaching  became  thus  a  general  standing  institution  for  the  Palatinate. 
It  is  easy  to  see  what  force  it  must  have  carried  with  it,  to  clothe  the 
Catechism  with  authority  and  power,  and  to  make  it  the  reigning 
measure  of  religious  thought  for  the  land. 
6 


42  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

But  care  was  taken,  at  tlie  same  time,  tliat  tlie  work  of  tlie  pulpit 
in  this  form  should  be  properly  supported  by  a  con*esponding  work 
of  the  school.  The  whole  business  of  education,  from  the  mother's 
knee  up  to  the  theological  chair  of  the  university,  must  be  so 
ordered  as  to  have  its  religious  basis  throughout  in  the  Catechism. 
The  school  teachers  were  in  fact  part  of  the  ecclesiastical  establishment 
of  the  land ;  and"  it  was  their  province  in  particular  to  see  that  the 
young  were  diligently  trained  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Catechism  from 
the  beginning,  so  as  to  be  qualified  in  due  time  for  a  full  religious 
profession.  Then  the  ministers  themselves  must  have  their  minds  cast 
into  it  as  a  mould  of  doctrine,  by  its  being  made  a  prominent  part  of 
their  theological  education.  Thus  it  was  that  Ursinus  himself,  imme- 
diately after  the  publication  of  the  Catechism,  commenced  a  course  of 
lectures  upon  it  in  the  Sapienz-college ;  which  he  continued  then  to 
repeat  yearly  till  as  late  as  1577.  Notes  of  these  lectures,  taken  by 
different  hands,  were  given  after  his  death  to  the  public ;  but  it  soon 
appeared  that  they  were  not  in  such  a  form  at  all  as  to  do  justice  to 
his  memory  ;  whereupon  the  celebrated  David  Parens^  one  of  his 
most  distinguished  disciples,  was  requested  to  review  and  revise  the 
material,  and  to  put  the  whole  into  what  he  might  consider  worthy 
and  suitable  shape.  In  this  way  was  brought  to  pass  the  work  which 
has  been  handed  down,  with  much  commendation,  to  later  times,  as  the 
Commentary  of  Ursinus  on  the  Heidelberg  Catechism.  Its  true  and 
proper  authorship  belongs  largely,  it  would  appear,  to  David  Pareus. 

THEOLOGICAL   AISTD   POLITICAL   OPPOSITIOlSr   TO   THE    CATECHISM. 

The  publication  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  was  in  truth  a  grand 
historical  act  on  the  part  of  the  Palatinate,  which  gave  new  form  and 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  43 

direction  to  its  whole  life ;  and  it  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  it  drew 
upon  itself  almost  immediately  the  excited  attention  of  all  neighboring 
lands.  For  Germany  in  particular,  it  was  a  fact  of  most  ominous 
significance,  carrying  in  it  nothing  less  than  a  principle  of  disorder  and 
revolution  for  the  whole  Protestant  German  Church.  It  was  the  lift- 
ing up  of  what  was  felt  to  be  the  Calvinistic  or  Reformed  standard  in 
the  land  of  Luther  himself,  where  its  erection  seemed  to  involve,  not 
only  treason  to  his  doctrine,  but  injuiy  also  to  his  memory  and  name. 

True,  the  movement  in  the  Palatinate  did  not  openly  propose  to  be 
a  formal  transition  from  the  Lutheran  Confession  to  the  Reformed,  in 
the  sense  of  breaking  absolutely  with  the  general  Protestantism  of 
Germany,  as  it  then  stood  under  the  common  banner  of  the  Confession 
of  Augsburg.  We  have  seen  that  there  were  two  different  forms  of 
Lutheranism  in  Lutheran  Gennany  itself,  for  which  the  Confession  of 
Augsburg  had  by  no  means  the  same  sense,  while  both  claimed  to 
stand  alike  within  its  broad  confessional  shadow.  The  Lutheranism 
of  Melancthon,  and  his  Augustana  variata,  was  indeed  coming  to  be 
decried  more  and  more,  by  what  claimed  to  be  the  Lutheranism  of  the 
Confession  in  its  original  form ;  but  it  was  still  of  regular  and  fair 
standing  in  the  general  German  Church,  and  came  in  for  its  full  share 
in  all  the  political  benefits  that  were  guaranteed  to  Protestants  of  the 
Augsburg  faith  in  the  German  Empire.  Within  the  range  of  this  wide 
moderate  interest  now,  as  we  know,  Frederick  IIL  had  considered 
himself  to  stand  before  he  undertook  his  reformatory  work  in  the 
Palatinate ;  and  it  does  not  seem  to  have  entered  into  his  mind  at  all, 
that  this  work  of  itself  amounted  to  anything  like  an  abandonment  of 
his  former  position,  in  favor  of  another  and  altogether  different  order 
of  Protestantism.  He  was  an  admirer  of  Calvin ;  but  not  so  as  to  be 
in  his  own  view  a  deserter  of  Luther.     As  long  as  Melancthon  lived. 


44  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

he  looked  to  him  for  counsel  and  advice.  He  brought  in  a  new  Cate- 
chism ;  but  he  did  not  intend,  in  doing  so,  to  renounce  his  allegiance 
to  the  Augsbm-g  Confession.  He  had  no  difficulty  in  subscribing  to  it 
afterward,  as  he  had  subscribed  to  it  before.  Why  should  his  Calvin- 
istic  S3niipathies  and  tendencies  be  considered  any  bar  to  that,  when 
it  was  known  that  Calvin  himself  had  been  willing  to  accept  it  in 
the  same  way  without  any  hesitation?  Then  as  to  the  authors 
of  the  Catechism.  They  were  indeed  in  open  correspondence  and 
fellowship  with  the  leaders  of  the  Reformed  Chm'ch  in  Switzerland. 
But  they  had  not  renounced  certainly  their  interest,  by  birth  and 
education,  in  the  Protestantism  of  Germany.  Ursinus  had  been  one 
of  Melancthon's  favorite  disciples ;  and  the  position  which  Olevianus 
sought  to  maintain  as  a  reformer,  at  Treves,  just  before  he  came  to 
Heidelberg,  was  in  the  name  and  under  the  shield  wholly  of  the  Augs- 
burg Confession.  Altogether,  the  religious  change  which  was  now 
introduced  into  the  Palatinate  could  not  be  considered  a  deliberate, 
systematic  rupture  with  the  universal  Lutheran  German  Church.  If  its 
aspect  in  this  direction  might  seem  to  be,  in  one  view,  wholly  polemical, 
there  was  another  undoubtedly,  in  which  it  was  intended  at  least  that 
it  should  be  full  only  of  friendship  and  peace. 

But  it  was  not  easy,  or  rather  we  may  say,  it  was  altogether  im- 
possible, as  matters  then  stood,  for  Lutheran  Germany  to  look  upon 
the  case  in  any  such  irenical  light  as  this.  It  was  felt  that  the  Befor- 
mation  in  the  Palatinate  had  in  fact  gone  so  far  as  to  involve  an 
inward  falling  away  from  the  distinctive  creed  of  Luther,  and  a  real 
passing  over  to  the  Reformed  camp.  It  was  in  vain  to  think  of 
finding  an  apology  for  it  with  Melancthon,  or  Melancthon's  school. 
If  this  might  be  considered  in  any  sense  the  natural  issue  and  end  of 
Melancthonianism,  let  the  abettors  of  that  system  now  look  to  it,  and 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  45 

lay  it  well  to  heart ;  for  what  could  serve  better  to  show  that  it  had 
been  infected  all  along  with  the  secret  virus  of  Calvinism,  and  that  it 
was  high  time  for  it  therefore  to  be  exploded  from  the  oi-thodoxy  of 
the  Lutheran  Church  ?  It  is  a  most  significant  fact,  that  the  Melanc- 
thonian  theologians  of  Wittenberg  found  it  necessary  to  come  out, 
among  the  first,  with  an  unfavorable  "Judgment,"  as  it  was  called, 
against  the  new  Catechism. 

What  was  to  be  expected  then,  we  may  well  ask,  from  the  zealots 
for  Lutheranism  in  its  rigid  and  strict  form  ?  Only,  of  course,  what 
took  place  in  fact ;  a  general  storm  of  indignation,  which  threatened,  if 
it  were  possible,  to  cover  the  Catechism  with  everlasting  shame  and 
contempt.  Foremost  among  its  adversaries  stood  forth  the  virulent 
Hesshus,  with  his  True  Warning  against  the  Heidelberg  Calvinistic 
Oatecliism.  A  much  more  respectable  opponent  presented  himself  in 
the  person  of  the  celebrated  Matthias  Flacius  Ill}Ticus ;  a  man  of  great 
learning,  who  seems,  however,  to  have  had  his  very  being  in  the 
element  of  religious  controversy.  The  "little  German  Calvinistic 
Catechism  "  is  in  his  eyes  full  of  all  sorts  of  dangerous  error,  a  hellish, 
more  than  devilish  leaven  of  sacramentarian  fanaticism,  only  made 
worse  by  its  "  pretending  to  be  evangelical,  or  of  the  Augsburg  Con- 
fession." His  Refutation  came  out  in  the  year  1563.  Passing  by 
other  attacks,  we  simply  notice  besides  the  Censure  of  the  Wirtemberg 
divines,  Brentz  and  Jacob  Andrea,  in  which  eighteen  questions  in 
particular  of  the  Catechism  were  subjected  to  severe  criticism.  Thus 
did  it  draw  attention  upon  itself,  and  become  at  once  the  signal  for 
war  on  all  sides. 

Ursinus  drew  up  in  popular  form  an  Apology  for  the  Catechism, 
against  the  objections  particularly  of  Matthias  Flacius,  which  was 
published  a.   1564,  in   the   name  of  the   theological   faculty  of  the 


46  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION". 

Heidelberg  University.  He  issued  also  a  tract,  early  in  tlie  same 
year,  in  reply  to  the  censure  of  Brentz  and  Andrea.  Both  of  these 
vindications  appear,  joined  with  the  Catechism  itself,  in  the  Neu- 
stadt edition  of  1595,  which  has  always  been  highly  prized  on  this 
account. 

The  Conference  of  Maulbron  about  the  same  time,  in  which  the 
theological  leaders  of  Wirtemberg  and  the  Palatinate  held  a  regular 
debate,  in  the  presence  of  their  respective  Princes,  for  six  days  in 
succession,  on  the  main  confessional  questions  of  the  day,  contributed 
materially  to  help  forward  the  general  controversy  in  which  the 
Catechism  was  thus  unhappily  involved.  The  disputation  was  mainly 
between  Ursinus  and  Olevianus  on  the  one  side,  and  Jacob  Andrea, 
the  excellent  chancellor  of  the  university  of  Tubingen,  on  the  other. 
The  subjects  discussed  were,  the  uhiquity  of  Christ's  glorified  hu- 
manity, and  the  sense  of  the  sacramental  clause,  TTiis  is  my  body. 
Both  parties  of  course  claimed  the  victory.  On  both  sides  were 
published  some  time  after  what  professed  to  be  true  and  faithful 
reports  of  the  debate ;  in  the  case  of  which,  each  side  charged  the 
other  with  gross  misrepresentation  and  wrong.  So  it  came,  as  the 
result  of  all,  not  to  concord  and  peace,  but  only  to  more  active  war. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  Flacian  party,  conceiving  more  and 
more  hatred  toward  the  whole  course  of  things  in  the  Palatinate,  felt 
itself  justified  in  seeking  to  bring  in  political  force  for  the  purpose  of 
abating,  if  it  were  possible,  the  theological  nuisance.  By  the  Reli- 
gious Peace  of  1555,  the  freedom  of  religion,  and  protection  of  the 
Empire,  were  secured  to  German  Protestants,  only  as  they  held  to  the 
Confession  of  Augsburg.  No  other  faith,  calling  itself  Protestant, 
could  claim  any  such  benefits  and  rights.  Hence  the  question  began 
to  be  raised  now,  whether  the  Elector  Frederick  HI.  could  be  allowed 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  47 

to  enjoy  any  longer  the  advantages  of  tliis  political  compact.  Had  he 
not  forfeited,  by  his  present  religious  position,  all  right  and  title  to  be 
considered  still  within  its  terms  ?  Christopher,  Duke  of  Wirtemberg, 
between  whom  and  Frederick  there  had  subsisted  heretofore  a  more 
than  common  intimacy,  became  in  particular  possessed  with  this 
opinion,  through  the  polemical  zeal  of  his  theologians,  and  set  himself 
systematically  to  work,  to  engage  his  princely  colleagues  in  a  common 
eöbrt,  under  such  view,  against  the  new  religion  of  the  Palatinate.  It 
was  a  conspiracy,  in  fact,  against  the  magnanimous  Elector,  which 
threatened  not  only  his  kingdom,  but  his  life. 

Occasion  for  carrying  it  into  effect  seemed  to  be  offered  oppor- 
tunely, by  the  diet  which  the  Emperor  Maximilian  II.  had  sum- 
moned to  meet  at  Augsburg  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1566. 
Frederick  was  fully  aware  of  his  danger;  but  he  would  not  allow 
himself  to  be  dissuaded  from  attending  the  diet.  Here  it  soon 
appeared  that  the  mind  of  the  Emperor,  influenced  by  Lutheran  not 
less  than  by  Catholic  counsels,  had  already  prejudged  the  whole 
cause ;  for  having  on  a  certain  day  called  together  all  the  orders  of  the 
Empire,  among  them  Frederick  himself,  he  proceeded  at  once,  without 
any  sort  of  previous  deliberation  or  vote,  to  have  a  decree  engrossed 
and  read ;  whereby  the  Elector  Palatine  was  charged  with  religious 
innovations,  with  the  use  of  a  Catechism  not  ag^reeinsr  with  the 
Augsburg  Confession,  and  with  having  brought  Calvinism  into  his 
dominions;  all  which  things  he  was  required  now  to  change  and 
abolish,  on  pain  of  exclusion  from  the  peace  of  the  Empire,  with  all 
its  consequences  both  for  himself  and  for  his  land. 

On  hearing  this,  we  are  told,  the  Elector  withdrew  for  a  short 
time,  as  it  were  to  collect  his  soul  for  the  occasion ;  but  soon  returned 
again,  attended  by  his  son  Prince  Casimir   bearing  in  his  hands  a 


48  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Bible,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  Princes  entered  upon  that 
memorable  defence,  which  has  made  the  occasion  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  for  all  subsequent  times. 

Modestly,  but  firmly,  he  addressed  himself  to  the  Emperor's  sense 
of  justice  and  right ;  while  he  did  not  fail  to  remind  him,  at  the  same 
time,  that  in  matters  of  faith  and  conscience  he  could  acknowledge  but 
one  Master,  the  Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings.  Where  the  salva- 
tion of  the  soul  was  in  question,  it  was  God  only  who  could  properly 
command  or  be  obeyed.  He  was  ready,  nevertheless,  to  make  answer 
to  his  Imperial  Majesty,  as  the  case  required.  Calvin's  books  he  had 
never  read,  and  could  not  pretend,  of  course,  to  know  exactly  what 
Calvinism  was.  But  he  had  subscribed  in  good  faith  to  the  Frankfort 
Recess,  and  to  the  Augsburg  Confession,  at  Naumburg,  along  with 
other  Princes  now  present ;  and  in  that  same  faith  he  continued  still, 
as  believing  it  to  be  grounded  in  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  nor  did  he 
believe  that  any  one  could  convict  him  of  having  swerved  from  this 
profession,  in  anything  that  he  had  done.  As  for  his  Catechism,  it 
was  all  taken  from  the  Bible,  and  so  well  fortified  with  marginal 
proof  texts,  that  it  could  not  be  overthrown.  What  he  had  publicly 
declared  before,  he  now  solemnly  professed  again  in  this  august 
assembly :  that  if  any  one,  of  whatever  order  or  condition,  could  show 
him  anything  better  from  the  Scriptures,  he  would  take  it  as  the 
highest  favor,  and  willingly  yield  himself  to  God's  truth.  Here  was 
the  Bible  at  hand  for  the  purpose ;  if  his  Majesty,  or  any  of  those 
present,  were  pleased  to  do  him  this  service,  he  should  have  his  most 
hearty  thanks.  Till  this  were  done,  he  trusted  in  his  Majesty's 
gracious  forbearance.  Should  this  expectation  be  disappointed,  how- 
ever, he  said  in  conclusion,  he  would  still  comfort  himself  in  the  sure 
promise  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  made  to  him  as  well  as 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  49 

to  all  believers,  tliat  what  lie  might  lose  for  his  name  in  this  life 
should  be  restored  to  him  a  hundred  fold  in  the  next. 

This  bold  and  manly  address  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
assembly.  All  were  constrained  to  admire  the  Elector's  earnestness, 
and  his  truly  heroic  spirit.  Augustus  of  Saxony  was  so  moved,  that 
he  came  up  to  him,  and  exclaimed,  touching  him  lightly  on  the 
shoulder :  "  Frederick,  you  are  more  religious  than  all  of  us  together  ! " 
The  Margrave  of  Baden  also,  as  the  convention  was  breaking  up, 
remarked  to  some  of  the  Princes :  "  Why  do  ye  trouble  this  man  ? 
He  has  more  piety  than  the  whole  of  us  ! " 

It  was  in  fact  a  signal  victory  over  all  the  plans  and  expectations 
of  his  enemies.  It  was  felt  amono^  the  Protestant  Princes,  that  things 
were  in  danger  of  being  carried  too  far ;  and  when  it  came  to  a  vote 
on  the  subject,  accordingly,  it  was  found  to  be  the  sense  of  the  diet 
finally,  in  opposition  to  the  judgment  of  the  Emperor,  that  the  Elector 
of  the  Palatinate  was  stiU  to  be  regarded  and  treated  as  belonging  to 
the  alliance  of  the  Augsburg  Confession.  In  this  way,  the  attempt  to 
arm  the  political  power  of  the  Empire  against  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism proved  a  complete  failure. 

The  Elector  returned  to  Heidelberg,  safe  and  sound,  amidst  the 
general  joy  of  his  people,  on  the  Friday  before  Whitsuntide.  On  the 
evening  before  the  sacred  festival,  being  present  at  the  preparation 
for  the  communion  in  the  church  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  grasped 
Olevianus  by  the  hand  in  view  of  the  whole  congregation,  and 
exhorted  him  to  continue  steadfast  in  the  good  cause.  The  next  day 
he  partook  of  the  sacrament,  in  company  with  his  son  Casimir  and  the 
whole  court. 


50  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 


THE   CATECHISM   IN   ITS    OWN    LAND. 

The  Catecliisni  was  thus  fairly  entlironed  in  the  Palatinate,  as  the 
acknowledged  symbol  of  its  religious  faith  and  life ;  and  for  the  space 
of  ten  years  now  it  wrought  there  effectually,  and  without  hindrance, 
in  the  accomplishment  of  its  proper  work.  We  are  not  to  suppose, 
however,  that  the  cause  which  it  represented  in  the  Palatinate  went 
forward  with  an  even  and  smooth  course,  or  that  its  future  was 
spanned  only  with  the  rainbow  of  promise  and  hope.  The  reverse  of 
all  this  was  painfully  true. 

Internal  difficulties,  of  the  most  serious  character,  sprang  up  in  the 
bosom  of  the  new  Church,  filling  it  with  agitation  and  strife.  One 
great  source  of  trouble  was  the  question  of  bringing  in  the  Calvinistic 
system  of  church  discipline,  as  established  at  Geneva;  a  measure 
powerfully  and  successfully  supported  by  Olevianus,  but  most  bitterly 
opposed  by  Erastus  and  a  party  who  ackowledged  him  for  their 
leader.  This  opposition,  based  on  an  unchurchly  feeling  generally, 
was  found  to  embrace  then  other  rationalistic  sentiments;  a  view  of  the 
sacraments  in  particular,  which  made  them  to  be  mere  acts  of  religious 
profession  and  nothing  more ;  and  finally  a  secret  leaven  of  Arianism 
itself,  which  came  out  suddenly  at  last,  to  the  no  small  confusion  of 
the  party,  in  the  astounding  apostasy  of  Adam  Neuser  and  John 
Sylvanus.  Neuser,  it  is  known,  made  his  escape,  found  his  way  to 
Constantinople,  became  there  a  regular  Mohammedan,  and  died  as  an 
atheist  in  honible  shame  and  distress ;  while  Sylvanus  was  made  to 
pay  the  penalty  of  his  blasphemous  heresy,  like  Servetus,  by  a  public 
execution.  This  was  a  scandal  of  course  for  the  whole  Keformed 
Church;   which  the   zealots   for   Lutheran    orthodoxy   failed   not  to 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  51 

improve  as  an  argument,  to  show  liow  Calvinism  led  over  logically 
to  Arianism  and  the  religion  of  the  Turks. 

Then  there  was  besides  a  constantly  impending  danger  for  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  and  its  whole  cause,  in  the  fact  that  the  Ui3per 
Palatinate,  as  it  was  called,  having  Amberg  for  its  capital,  and  being 
in  many  respects  a  separate  government  with  its  own  privileges  and 
rights,  obstinately  refused,  along  with  its  present  Governor,  to  accept 
the  reformation  of  Frederick  in  this  form  ;  and  this  present  Governor, 
unfortunately,  was  no  other  than  the  Elector's  eldest  son,  Prince 
Louis,  the  heir  apparent  to  the  Electorate  itself.  No  wonder  that  the 
father  was  anxious  to  overcome  this  opposition,  and  to  have  the  same 
form  of  religion  established  throughout  his  dominions.  All  his  efforts 
for  the  purpose,  however,  proved  ineffectual.  Lutheranism,  in  its 
most  stringent  type,  continued  to  hold  its  own  in  the  Upper  Palat- 
inate ;  and  its  presence  there  was  a  dark  cloud,  which  boded  con- 
tinually no  good,  but  endless  mischief  rather,  to  the  whole  Palatinate 
of  the  Rhine. 

The  cloud  burst,  when  Frederick  the  Pious  died.  His  death  took 
place  on  the  26th  of  October,  1576,  in  the  sixty-first  year  of  his  age, 
and  was  marked  by  the  same  piety  that  had  distinguished  his  life. 
As  he  felt  his  end  approaching,  he  said  to  those  who  stood  around  his 
bed :  "  I  have  lived  here  long  enough  for  you  and  for  the  Church ;  I 
am  called  now  to  a  better  life.  I  have  done  for  the  Church  what  I 
could ;  but  my  power  has  been  small.  He  who  possesses  all  power, 
and  who  has  cared  for  His  Church  before  I  was  born,  still  lives  and 
reigns  in  heaven ;  and  He  will  not  forsake  us.  Neither  will  He  allow 
the  prayers  and  tears,  which  I  have  so  often  poured  forth  to  God  upon 
my  knees  in  this  chamber,  for  my  successors  and  the  Church,  to  go 
unanswered  and  without  effect."     Shortly  before  his  dissolution,  he 


52  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

had  tlie  31st  Psalm  and  tlie  ITtli  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John 
read  to  him  by  Tossanus,  with  a  suitable  prayer ;  after  which  he  sank 
gently  into  the  arms  of  death. 

The  year  following  the  death  of  his  father,  the  new  Elector,  Louis ^ 
came  with  his  com-t  to  Heidelberg,  and  began  immediately  to  take 
measures  for  changing  the  whole  religious  state  of  the  Palatinate  into 
a  new  form.  All  was  required,  by  suasion  or  by  force,  to  become 
Lutheran.  The  revolution  was  at  once  radical  and  unmerciful ;  a  sad 
examj)le  of  confessional  fanaticism,  on  the  details  of  which  it  is  not 
necessary  here  to  dwell. 

The  more  prominent  theologians  were  soon  compelled,  of  course,  to 
quit  their  places ;  among  them  were  the  authors  of  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism,  Olevianus  and  Ursihus. 

The  first  person,  indeed,  on  whom  the  marked  displeasure  of  the 
new  23rince  fell,  was  Olevianus.  He  was  known  to  have  been  the  soul 
practically  of  the  late  ecclesiastical  reformation ;  and  his  great  influence 
with  the  people  seemed  to  make  it  desirable  now,  that  both  his  tongue 
and  his  pen  should  be  silenced  among  them  as  soon  as  possible.  He 
was  accordingly  excluded  at  once  from  the  church  council,  forbidden 
to  preach,  teach,  or  write,  and,  to  crown  all,  placed  under  civil  arrest. 
In  the  end,  however,  so  much  was  gained  by  the  remonstrance  of  his 
friends,  that  he  was  allowed  to  leave  the  country.  He  found  a  new 
sphere  for  his  activity  afterward  in  Berleburg  and  Herborn ;  a  sphere 
in  which  he  continued  to  distinguish  himself  by  the  same  qualities  and 
powers  in  the  service  of  religion,  which  had  appeared  in  him  to  so 
much  advantage  before.  His  ministry,  everywhere  earnest  and  full  of 
zeal,  embraced  all  forms  of  action  and  work,  in  the  interest  always  of 
the  Reformed  Church.  To  this  period  belongs,  among  other  labors, 
his  most  important  theological  publication,  on  the  Covenant  of  Grace ; 


HISTORICAL  mTRODUCTION.  53 

by  wMcli  lie  deserves  to  be  considered  tlie  proper  founder  of  wliat  is 
called  the  federal  theology,  as  is  acknowledged  by  Cocceius  himself, 
the  subsequent  completer  of  the  scheme.  Hs  death  took  place  March 
15,  1587,  in  the  full  triumphant  assurance  of  Christian  faith  and  hope. 

Ursinus,  when  his  turn  also  came  to  quit  Heidelberg,  found  an 
honorable  refuge  with  Prince  Casimir,  second  son  of  the  late  Elector, 
who  held  at  Neustadt  a  small  territorial  government  of  his  own,  and 
made  it  his  business  to  encourage  and  succor  there,  as  much  as  he 
could,  the  cause  now  so  cruelly  persecuted  by  his  Lutheran  brother. 
Under  his  auspices  a  new  seminary  of  learning  arose  in  Neustadt, 
which,  bearing  the  title  of  the  Casimirianum,  not  only  rivalled,  but  for 
a  time  threw  into  the  shade  the  old  university  of  Heidelberg.  Here 
Ursinus  continued  to  labor,  true  to  the  faith  of  his  own  dishonored 
Catechism,  till  the  day  of  his  death. 

We  can  hardly  suppose  it,  indeed,  to  have  been  with  him  any  very 
great  sacrifice  to  quit  his  situation  at  Heidelberg ;  for  this  had  become 
for  him  years  before  a  burden,  which  he  found  to  be  more  than  he  could 
well  bear.  He  had  been  diseased  in  body  and  mind,  and  was  yet  at  the 
same  time  oppressed  with  labors  altogether  too  great  for  his  strength. 
His  spiiit  shrank  from  the  world  around  him,  and  yielded  itself  to  a 
sort  of  morbid  hypochondria,  that  seemed  to  color  everything  in  life 
vrith  its  own  sombre  hue.  The  theoloo:ical  and  ecclesiastical  ao^itations 
of  the  time  filled  him  with  disquietude  and  pain.  There  is  something 
indeed  almost  ludicrous,  at  times,  in  the  helpless  tone  of  his  complaints. 
The  part  he  was  required  to  take  in  the  Maulbron  Conference  gave 
such  a  shock  to  his  nervous  system,  as  made  it  a  very  nightmare  for 
his  memory  ever  after,  "  I  have  received  a  wound  from  this  conflict," 
we  hear  him  say,  in  a  letter  to  Bullinger,  "  which  I  do  not  expect  to 
have  healed  in  this  life."     Again,  writing  to  his  friend  Crato,  in  1566, 


54  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

lie  says :  "  I  am  weary  of  all  things  in  this  life,  and  for  the  most  part 
execrate  them  with  horror  and  disgust.  So  I  keep  me  as  much  as 
possible  to  the  monastery  in  which  I  dwell,  and  avoid  not  only  the 
society  and  conversation  of  men,  but  also  the  very  sight  of  them."  So, 
in  1572,  to  the  same:  "I  am  more  and  more  weary  of  all  things  in 
life."  He  speaks  of  his  situation  frequently  as  a  perpetual  round  of 
tribulation  and  distress,  and  longs  for  death  at  times  as  a  relief  In 
such  circumstances,  we  cannot  feel  that  he  lost  much  in  being  requii'ed 
to  seek  another  home.  He  had  no  property  to  leave  behind,  and  but 
little  to  carry  away ;  for  he  was  always  poor,  and  lived  in  the  very 
plainest  style. 

His  settlement  at  Neustadt,  however,  brought  with  it  no  escape 
from  his  constitutional  ailments  and  troubles.  He  continued  the  same 
sickly,  sensitive,  hypochondriacal  man  to  the  end ;  but  in  spite  of  his 
infirmities,  the  same  diligent  student  also,  and  laborious  worker  with 
the  pen.  Here  he  published  in  particular  his  celebrated  work  Admo- 
nitio  Christiana,  against  the  Form  of  Concord  and  the  Ubiquitarians, 
which  commanded  the  attention  and  widely  extended  admiration  of 
the  age.  It  formed  indeed,  we  may  say,  the  last  great  act  of  his  life. 
His  weary  pilgrimage  came  to  an  end  on  the  6th  of  March,  1583, 
before  he  had  completed  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age. 

He  was  buried  in  the  choir  of  the  church  at  Neustadt,  where  his 
colleagues  erected  also  a  suitable  monument  to  his  memory.  The  in- 
scription describes  him  as  a  genuine  and  true  theologian,  distinguished 
for  resisting  heresies  in  regard  to  the  Person  and  Supper  of  Christ,  an 
acute  philosopher,  a  prudent  man,  and  an  excellent  instructor  of  youth. 
A  funeral  oration  was  pronounced  on  the  occasion,  in  Latin,  by  the 
celebrated  Francis  Junius,  which  is  still  important  for  the  picture  it 
preserves  of  his  mind  and  character.     Its  representations,  of  course,  are 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  55 

• 

somewliat  rlietorical,  and  some  allowance  must  be  made  for  tlie  color- 
ings of  friendship  and  recent  grief ;  but  after  all  proper  abatement  on 
tMs  score,  it  is  sucli  a  glowing  eulogy  as,  coming  fi'om  one  so  intimately- 
familiar  with  the  man,  must  be  allowed  to  tell  greatly  to  his  praise. 

In  this  same  year,  1583,  the  Elector,  Louis  YL,  also  died,  in  the 
midst  of  his  days,  and  the  triumph  of  Lutheranism  in  the  Palatinate 
came  suddenly  to  an  end.  Under  the  regency  of  Prince  Casimir ^  the 
whole  face  of  things  was  once  more  changed.  The  Reformed  faith  and 
worship  were  restored  to  their  former  honor.  The  Form  of  Concord 
sank  into  disgrace ;  while  its  rival  standard,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism, 
rose  gloriously  into  view  again  as  the  ecclesiastical  banner  of  the  land. 
In  a  short  time,  the  entire  order  of  the  Chui'ch  was  restored  as  it  had 
stood  at  the  death  of  Frederick  the  Pious. 

The  fortunes  of  the  Catechism  after  this  in  the  land  of  its  birth 
were  variable,  being  always  more  or  less  controlled  by  the  eventful 
political  history  of  the  country. 

The  bloody  tragedy  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  in  the  next  century, 
as  is  commonly  known,  brought  years  of  desolation  and  sorrow  on 
Heidelberg  and  the  Palatinate,  and  restored  the  whole  land  again  to 
the  possession  and  power  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Crowds  of 
foreign  monks  came  in,  laying  claim  to  the  property  which  had  been 
previously  taken  from  the  monasteries  and  convents.  The  Reformed 
ministers  were  expelled.  The  Catechism  fell.  All  assumed  once  more 
a  Catholic  aspect.  Large  numbers  of  the  people  consented  to  change 
their  religion,  in  order  to  save  themselves  from  expatriation  and  worldly 
loss.     The  university  became  a  Jesuit  college. 

By  the  Peace  of  Westphalia,  in  1648,  the  mighty  sorrows  of  the 
country  were  at  length  brought  to  an  end.  The  Bavarian  supremacy 
ceased,  and  the  government  fell  once  more  into  the  hands  of  its  true 


56  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

and  proper  sovereign.  Then  was  the  Reformed  Churcli  seen  rising 
again  as  it  were  from  the  ashes  of  her  former  glory,  a  spectacle  of 
mournful  interest  to  Churches  of  the  same  faith  in  other  lands.  Of 
three  hundred  and  forty-seven  preachers  who  had  been  settled  in  the 
Palatinate  of  the  Rhine,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  only  forty-two 
were  found  remaining  in  it  when  the  war  closed,  in  a  few  towns  and 
villages  occupied  by  the  Swedes ;  and  only  fifty-four  returned  fi"om  the 
general  banishment,  to  resume  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  their  native 
land.  There  followed,  however,  a  period  of  forty  years,  in  which  the 
land  had  peace  and  rest,  and  during  this  time  the  Church  was  gradu- 
ally restored  to  something  of  her  former  state.  But  her  old  confessional 
supremacy,  we  may  say,  had  passed  away  forever. 

Finally,  by  a  change  in  the  line  of  succession,  the  electoral  sover- 
eignty of  the  Palatinate,  in  the  year  1685,  passed  into  Catholic  hands; 
and  soon  after  the  French  war  followed,  once  more  filling  the  land 
with  desolation,  and  assuming  the  character  of  a  crusade  in  favor  of 
the  Roman  Church.  Protestants  were  compelled  in  many  cases  to  fly 
the  country ;  while  Catholics,  on  the  other  hand,  came  in  from  abroad 
to  fill  their  places.  Peace  was  restored  again  in  1697;  but  the 
Protestant  cause  was  not  able  to  recover  its  lost  advantages  and  rights. 
Romanism  was  become  a  strong  interest  in  the  land,  and  had  usurped 
in  various  ways  both  power  and  wealth  which  once  belonged  to  the 
Reformed  Church.  Now  it  was  particularly  that  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  became  more  than  ever,  in  this  direction,  a  subject  for  angry 
vituperation  and  quarrel.  The  80th  question,  which  had  all  along 
been  a  cause  of  offence,  was  held  up  now  to  special  odium,  as  being  not 
merely  injurious  to  the  Catholic  Church,  but  insulting  also  to  the 
Catholic  government  of  the  State.  Controversy  and  excitement  in 
regard  to  it  filled  the  land  for  years,  till  it  came  finally  to  an  explosion, 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  5^ 

wBicli  for  a  time  threatened  to  overthrow  the  Keformed  Church  of  the 
Palatinate  altogether. 

In  the  year  1719,  during  the  reign  of  Charles  Philip,  some  book- 
seller, a  Catholic,  who  was  authorized  to  print  Protestant  books,  had 
allowed  himself  to  publish  an  edition  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  to 
which  was  inconsiderately  prefixed  the  Elector's  coat  of  arms,  with  the 
words  underneath :  By  authority  of  his  Electoral  Serene  Highness. 
This  roused  the  Komanists  to  a  perfect  tempest  of  fanatical  zeal.  The 
Prince,  mildly  enough  disposed  himself,  was  so  urged  and  pressed  from 
all  sides,  that  he  found  it  impossible  to  withstand  the  tumult ;  and  so 
finally  a  decree  appeared,  in  his  name,  requiring  the  entire  suppression 
of  this  edition,  and  forbidding  thenceforward  the  use  of  any  copies  of 
the  Catechism  that  should  contain  the  80th  question.  This  was  a  blow 
aimed  at  the  very  existence  of  the  Catechism ;  and  through  it  at  the 
life  of  the  Reformed  Church,  of  whose  confessional  rights  in  the  State 
it  was  the  acknowledged  symbol  and  pledge. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  this  tyrannical  measure  called  forth  loud 
remonstrance  and  complaint.  Foreign  powers  also — England,  Prussia, 
the  States  General  of  Holland  and  West  Friesland,  and  some  of  the 
Reformed  German  Principalities — were  moved  to  interfere,  partly  by 
letter  and  partly  by  embassy,  earnestly  demanding  that  their  oppressed 
brethren  of  the  Reformed  faith  might  have  their  rights  restored  to 
them  in  the  free  use  of  their  Catechism.  Altogether  there  was  much 
discussion,  argument,  and  diplomatic  negotiation ;  the  end  of  which 
was,  however,  that  the  Elector  found  it  necessary  to  recede  from  the 
high  ground  he  had  taken,  and  to  revoke  his  offensive  decree  the  very 
next  year  after  it  was  issued.  Under  certain  general  conditions,  for 
the  sake  of  form  and  to  save  appearances,  it  was'  declared  that  the 
restriction  on  the  printing  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  was  removed, 
8 


58  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

and  that  the  Reformed  Churcli  in  the  Palatinate  might  go  on  to  use  it, 
without  let  or  molestation,  as  before. 


THE   CATECHISM   IN   OTHER   LAITOS. 

Had  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  existed  for  the  Palatinate  only,  it 
must  have  risen  and  fallen  wholly  with  the  fortunes  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  that  interesting  land.  In  that  case,  its  historical  import- 
ance would  be  circumscribed  by  comparatively  narrow  bounds.  The 
Church  of  the  Palatinate  had  its  glory,  for  the  most  part,  in  the 
beginning.  It  never  recovered  itself  in  full  fi'om  the  shock  of  the 
Thirty  Years'  War ;  and  after  the  year  1685,  when  a  Roman  Catholic 
prince  succeeded  to  the  Electorate,  it  declined  still  more  and  more ; 
till  finally,  instead  of  being,  as  it  was  at  first,  the  head  of  all  the 
Reformed  Churches  in  Germany,  it  became  one  of  the  least  consid- 
erable among  them,  and  sank  indeed  almost  entirely  out  of  sight. 

But  the  Catechism  has  a  wider  history  than  that  of  the  particular 
Church  to  which  it  owes  its  birth.  It  very  soon  passed  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  Palatinate,  and  became  the  property  also  of  the  Church 
in  other  lands.  Its  popularity  and  diffusion  in  this  way  demand 
now  some  general  notice. 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  indeed,  the  formulary  commanded, 
not  only  the  respect,  but  the  admiration  of  the  entire  Reformed 
Confession.  On  all  sides,  it  was  welcomed  as  the  best  popular 
summary  of  religious  doctrine  that  had  yet  appeared  on  the  part  of 
this  division  of  the  Protestant  world.  Distinguished  divines  in  other 
countries  united  in  bearing  testimony  to  its  merits.  It  was  considered 
the  glory  of  the  Palatinate  to  have  produced  it.  Writing  to  a  friend, 
the  great  and  good  Henry  Bullinger  says :   "  I  have  read  with  great 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  59 

interest  tlie  Catecliism  of  the  most  illustrious  and  gracious  Prince, 
Frederick,  Elector  of  the  Palatinate;  and  in  doiiig  so,  have  heartily- 
blessed  God  who  perfects  the  work  he  has  begun.  The  arrangement 
of  the  book  is  clear,  and  the  matter  is  set  forth  with  the  greatest 
purity  and  trath ;  all  is  plain,  pious,  edifying ;  comprising  large  and 
copious  things  in  compact  brevity.  I  think  that  no  better  Catechism 
has  yet  been  published.  Glory  to  God,  from  whom  is  all  success." 
This  may  be  taken  as  an  example  of  the  way  in  which  the  work  was 
received  generally  throughout  the  Eeformed  Church.  With  a  sort 
of  general  silent  consent,  it  rose  into  the  character  of  a  common 
standard  or  s}Tnbol,  answering  in  such  view  to  what  Luther's  Cate- 
chism had  become  for  the  Lutheran  Confession.  Far  and  wide  it 
became  the  basis,  on  which  systems  of  religious  instruction  were 
formed  by  the  most  excellent  and  learned  divines.  In  the  course  of 
time,  commentaries,  paraphrases,  and  courses  of  sermons  were  written 
upon  it  almost  without  number.  Its  popularity  was  shown  strikingly 
by  the  manifold  translations  that  were  made  of  it  into  different 
languages  and  tongues.  It  passed  in  this  way,  through  various 
hands,  into  Hebrew,  Ancient  Greek,  Latin,  Modern  Greek,  Low 
Dutch,  French,  English,  Spanish,  Italian,  Bohemian,  Polish,  Hunga- 
rian, Arabic,  Malay,  and  we  know  not  what  other  strange  dialects 
besides.  Few  works  have  gone  through  as  many  different  versions. 
No  Catechism  or  Confession  of  modern  times,  it  would  seem,  has 
enjoyed  such  a  truly  Pentecostal  "  gift  of  tongues." 

SwiTZERLA]!fD,  from  the  beginning,  held  the  Heidelberg  Catechism 
in  the  highest  esteem.  Various  Catechisms  had  been  in  use  here 
before  its  appearance ;  in  particular,  those  of  Leo  Juda  and  Bullinger 
(out  of  which  grew  afterward  the  Catechism  of  Zurich),  and  in  some 
respects  towering  above  all  others  the  ever-memorable  Catechism  of 


60  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Calvin.  In  tlie  midst  of  tliese  established  formularies,  however,  tlie 
new  text  book  of  tlie  Reformed  faitli,  sent  fortli  from  tlie  Palatinate, 
found  also  general  acknowledgment,  and  was  soon  invested  witli  a 
sort  of  universal  authority,  as  a  bond  of  religious  belief  for  the  land 
at  large.  In  St.  Gall  it  was  formally  introduced,  in  the  course  of  time, 
into  tlie  schools  and  churches.  The  Catechism  of  Zurich,  which 
might  be  denominated  rather  the  Swiss  Catechism  from  its  universal 
use  in  the  country,  underwent  in  the  year  1609  a  remarkable  revision, 
which  was  so  ordered  as  to  conform  it  more  than  before  to  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism ;  the  difference  being  mainly  in  its  method 
only,  and  the  comparative  brevity  of  its  matter.  By  the  Swiss 
deputies  at  the  great  Synod  of  Dort,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  was 
acknowledged  to  be  of  symbolical  authority  and  force  for  all  the 
Helvetic  churches.  The  high  credit  in  which  it  stood  appears  also 
from  the  numerous  editions  of  it  published  in  that  country,  and  from 
the  commentaries  and  expositions  with  which  it  has  been  honored  in 
different  quarters. 

In  France,  the  Reformed  Church  made  use  of  the  Catechism  of 
Calvin,  which  was  often  called  simply  the  French  Catechism.  Pub- 
lished in  its  rudiments  first  at  Basel,  in  French  1536,  in  Latin  1538; 
and  then  changed,  a.  1541,  into  its  full  form  of  question  and  answer, 
as  it  now  stands ;  this  admirable  production  soon  gained  for  itself  a 
name  and  reputation,  in  all  parts  of  the  Reformed  Church,  which 
resembled  in  many  respects  the  vast  popularity  of  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  itself.  It  was  translated  into  Hebrew  by  Immanuel 
Tremellius,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Jews,  and  into  Greek  by  Robert 
Stephens,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople ;  appeared 
'also  in  the  leading  modern  European  tongues ;  and  was  honored  with 
many   commentaries   and   expositions    by   learned  men   of    different 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  61 

countries.  Vast  attention  was  given  by  tlie  Frencli  Cliurcli  to  cate- 
chetical  instruction.  For  a  whole  century,  we  find  in  tlie  acts  of 
almost  every  Synod  some  reference  to  the  subject,  showing  of  what 
vital  account  it  was  considered  to  be  for  the  general  interests  of 
relio-ion.  Though  not  brought  anywhere  into  formal  public  use,  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism  was  held  always  in  the  highest  respect;  as 
appears  from  the  fact,  among  other  things,  that  different  translations 
of  it  were  made  into  the  French  language. 

In  ExGLAisTD  also,  and  Scotlaistd,  we  find  it  received  with  like  high 
regard.  Immediately  after  its  formation,  it  was  translated  into  the 
language  of  these  countries,  and  became  thus  extensively  known  and 
admired  in  both  of  them,  as  an  approved  summary  of  the  Keformed 
faith. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism,  soon  after  its  appearance,  was  adopted 
as  a  symbolical  book  in  the  remote  kingdom  of  Hungaey,  and  came 
there  into  general  use  both  in  churches  and  schools.  Teachers  as 
well  as  ministers  were  required  to  take  an  oath,  that  they  cordially 
embraced  the  system  of  truth  contained  in  it,  and  that  they  would 
follow  it  faithfully  in  all  their  religious  instructions.  In  Polaisd  also, 
it  was  more  in  credit  and  use  than  any  other  Catechism. 

The  Reformed  doctrine  gained  ground  in  Germaisty,  far  beyond 
the  bounds  of  the  Palatinate.  This  was  owing  partly  to  the  influence 
exerted  by  neighboring  countries,  particularly  Switzerland  and  the 
Netherlands;  but  still  more,  no  doubt,  to  the  dialectic  crisis,  by 
which  Lutheranism  itself  became  complete  in  being  carried  out  to  its 
last  consequence,  the  Form  of  Concord.  A  large  amount  of  crypto- 
Calvinistic  feeling,  which  had  prevailed  in  the  Church  as  moderate 
Melancthonian  Lutheranism,  was  forced  by  this  onward  movement  to 
seek  for  itself  a  different   ecclesiastical   position.      In  all  directions, 


62  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

accordingly,  we  liave  disclosed  to  our  view,  with  the  advance  of  time, 
tlie  presence  of  Reformed  views  and  principles  in  distinction  from  the 
Lutheran,  and  in  different  lands  a  more  or  less  general  profession  of 
the  Reformed  faith.  In  these  lands  we  hear  of  various  Catechisms, 
which  secured  for  themselves  a  certain  amount  of  respect  and  use. 
In  the  end,  however,  we  find  them  all  either  supplanted  altogether,  or 
made  to  take  a  secondary  character  and  rank,  by  the  Catechism  of 
the  Palatinate ;  which  attained  in  this  way  to  a  sort  of  universal 
authority,  as  the  leading  symbol  of  the  Church.  In  Juliers,  Cleves, 
and  Berg,  it  was  early  introduced  into  the  churches  and  schools ;  and 
in  1580  it  was  invested  in  form  with  the  fall  authority  of  an 
ecclesiastical  standard.  So  afterward  in  Hesse  Cassel,  Anhalt,  and 
the  several  free  cities  which  had  embraced  the  Reformed  faith.  It 
became,  in  a  word,  the  acknowledged  confessional  symbol  of  the 
German  Reformed  Church  at  large,  in  its  difference  from  the  other 
great  Protestant  Confession.  Hence  we  find  even  in  Prussia,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century,  a  royal  order,  requiring  all  ministers  of 
Reformed  congregations  to  lecture  on  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  every 
Sabbath  afternoon,  according  to  the  practice  observed  in  Holland. 

As  in  the  Palatinate,  so  likewise  in  Germany  at  large,  this  sym- 
bolical significance  of  the  Catechism  was  fully  attested  also  by  the 
contradiction  it  endured  both  from  Lutherans  and  Romanists.  It 
was  a  sign  everywhere  to  be  spoken  against  by  the  enemies  of  the 
Reformed  faith.  The  notable  80th  question,  in  particular,  was  laid 
hold  of  by  Catholics,  as  a  favorable  occasion  at  all  times  for  holding 
it  up  to  reproach.  In  some  cases,  when  it  was  known  that  the 
minister  was  to  preach  upon  this  question,  troublesome  persons  would 
slip  into  the  church  for  the  purpose  of  creating  interruption  and 
disorder.     Not  unfrequently,  fanatical  well-fed  monks  might  be  heard. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTIOK  63 

at  tlie  public  fairs,  abusing  the  book  in  tbe  most  scurrilous  style; 
wliile  tlie  press,  of  course,  was  made  to  do  its  full  share  of  similar 
service,  in  the  way  of  abusive  pamphlets  and  tracts. 

In  no  foreign  country,  however,  was  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  so 
generally  received,  or  so  highly  honored,  as  in  the  Netheelakds. 
It  came  here  to  a  second  home,  which  seemed  to  be  no  less  natural  to 
it  in  the  end  than  the  land  of  its  birth. 

The  Reformation  was  matured  in  this  land,  amid  the  storms  of 
political  revolution.  The  same  convulsions  which  set  the  Church 
free,  gave  birth  also  to  a  new  and  powerful  Republic.  From  the 
beginning,  various  influences  conspii^ed,  to  incline  the  country  to  the 
Calvinistic  rather  than  the  Lutheran  creed.  In  the  end,  this  tendency 
completely  prevailed.  The  celebrated  Belgic  Confession,  prepared 
mainly  at  first  by  Adrian  Saravia,  in  the  spirit  and  very  much  in  the 
form  also  of  the  Confession  used  by  the  Reformed  Church  in  France, 
was  publicly  adopted  in  Flanders  in  the  year  1562 ;  after  which  it 
came  into  authority  gradually  throughout  the  country.  Especially 
did  the  Reformed  faith  predominate  in  the  seven  Northern  Provinces, 
which  in  the  year  1579  constituted  themselves  into  an  independent 
State. 

In  the  Walloon  churches  of  the  Netherlands,  using  the  French 
language,  the  Catechism  of  Calvin  was  in  common  use.  The  Dutch 
congregations  used  at  first  the  Catechism  of  Emden,  drawn  up  origi- 
nally by  Lasky,  and  translated  afterward  into  the  Dutch  language  by 
Jolin  Utenhoven.  As  soon,  however,  as  the  Catechism  of  the  Palati- 
nate came  to  be  known,  it  took  precedence  of  both,  and  continued  to 
grow  in  credit,  till  it  became  in  a  short  time  of  acknowledged 
symbolical  authority  throughout  the  Church.  As  early  as  the  year 
1566,  Peter  Gabriel  made  use  of  it  for  public  religious  instruction,  at 


64  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Amsterdam.  In  tlie  year  1568,  in  a  general  Synod  lield  at  Wesel  it 
was  recommended,  tliat  in  tlie  Frencli  churclies  of  the  Netherlands  the 
Catechism  of  Geneva  (Calvin's)  should  continue  to  be  employed,  and 
that  where  the  Dutch  language  prevailed  use  should  be  made  of  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism.  The  Synod  of  Emden  in  1571  renewed  this 
recommendation  in  somewhat  stronger  terms.  Finally  the  Synod 
held  at  Dort  in  1574  changed  the  advice  into  a  decree,  making  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism  thus  to  be  of  full  symbolical  authority  for  the 
whole  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  Soon  after  this  we  find  it  required, 
that  the  ministers  should  eveiywhere  preach  upon  it  on  Sunday 
afternoons,  so  as  to  go  over  the  whole  of  it  once  a  year.  Then  it  was 
made  a  rule,  that  ministers  and  schoolmasters,  as  well  as  professors 
of  theology,  should  bind  themselves,  by  a  solemn  subscription  of  their 
names,  to  be  governed  by  it  in  all  their  religious  teaching.  The  city 
of  Gouda  in  South  Holland  undertook,  some  time  after,  to  introduce 
a  new  compend  of  religious  instruction  into  its  schools.  But  the 
ministers  of  the  place  were  called  to  account,  and  publicly  censured 
for  the  attempt.  Indifference  to  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  was 
considered  to  be  disaffection  to  the  proper  orthodoxy  of  the  Reformed 
Church.  So  entirely  identified  did  it  become  in  this  way  with  the 
reigning  religious  life  of  the  Netherlands,  that  it  was  known  and 
spoken  of  at  last  simply  as  the  Belgic  Catechism. 

Here  again,  however,  the  Catechism  had  its  enemies,  as  in  other 
lands.  The  Romanists  stigmatized  it  as  a  public  pest ;  and  to  show 
their  hatred  toward  it,  would  publicly  burn  it  at  times  or  whip  it 
with  rods ;  while  argument  and  wit  were  employed  also  to  bring  it 
into  contempt.  There  was  opposition  to  it  besides,  however,  from  a 
different  quarter.  As  it  pleased  not  the  high-toned  Lutheranism  of 
Germany,  so  it  suited  not  the  low-toned  Arminianism  of  Holland. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  65 

Arminius  himself  professed  to  be  satisfied  in  tlie  main  witli  its 
doctrines;  but  lie  had  difficulties  with  it  again  in  regard  to  several 
points,  and  wished  there  might  be  a  revision  of  it,  to  remove  its 
objectionable  features.  After  his  death,  his  fi'iends,  the  Remonstrants, 
as  they  were  called,  continued  to  talk  in  the  same  style.  They  found 
much  in  the  Catechism  that  called  for  correction.  It  had  been 
introduced  too  hastily  into  the  Church,  they  thought,  and  without 
proper  examination  of  its  merits.  They  were  not  willing  to  have  it 
read  and  preached  upon  in  the  pulpits,  as  though  it  were  part  of 
God's  Word  ;  and  they  protested  of  course,  then,  against  being  bound 
to  it  by  subscription  or  oath.  These  difficulties  led  to  the  calling  of 
the  great  National  Synod  of  Dort  in  the  year  1618,  to  which  deputies 
were  invited  at  the  same  time  from  the  Reformed  Churches  generally 
in  other  lands.  Being  requested  and  ordered  to  present  here  their 
objections  to  the  Catechism,  the  Remonstrants,  with  Episcopius  at 
their  head,  offered  such  a  list  of  them  at  last,  as  left  hardly  a  question 
untouched,  and  formed  a  book  quite  equal  in  size  to  the  Catechism 
itself  The  result  of  all,  as  is  generally  known,  was  the  condemnation 
of  the  views  held  by  the  Arminian  party,  and  their  exclusion  from  the 
bosom  of  the  Reformed  Church. 

Along  with  this  a  solemn  judgment  was  passed  in  favor  of  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  which  served  more  than  all  before  to  establish 
its  confessional  significance  and  weight.  On  the  part  of  the  States 
General  it  had  been  requested,  that  the  work  might  be  carefully  read 
over  and  considered,  so  as  to  have  the  opinion  of  each  delegate  taken 
in  regard  to  its  merits.  This  was  done  in  form ;  and  the  result  was, 
we  are  told,  a  full  and  unanimous  approval  of  the  Catechism  as  it 
stood,  which  was  then  embodied  in  the  following  memorable  declara- 
tion: "That  in  the  united  judgment  of  all  the  theologians  present, 
9 


66  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

botli  foreign  and  Belgic,  the  doctrine  contained  in  the  Palatine  Cate- 
chism was  in  harmony  with  the  Word  of  God  at  all  points ;  that 
there  was  nothing  in  it  in  this  view  that  seemed  to  require  change  or 
correction ;  and  that  it  formed  altogether  a  most  accurate  compend  of 
orthodox  Christian  faith ;  being,  with  singular  skill,  not  only  adapted 
to  the  understanding  of  the  young,  but  suited  also  for  the  advan- 
tageous instruction  of  older  persons ;  so  that  it  could  continue  to  be 
taught  with  great  edification  in  the  Belgic  churches,  and  ought  by 
all  means  to  be  retained."  When  we  remember  the  ecumenical 
character  of  the  Synod,  and  consider  the  circumstances  under  which 
this  testimony  and  ratification  were  given,  the  whole  action  must  be 
counted  highly  honorable  to  the  Catechism,  as  it  goes  also  to  invest 
it  with  an  authority  which  may  well  challenge  the  respect  of  the 
universal  Reformed  Church. 

The  greatest  attention  was  paid  to  catechetical  instruction  in  the 
Netherlands.  Here,  no  less  than  in  the  Palatinate,  it  became  an 
institution,  embracing  in  its  operations  the  entire  economy  of  educa- 
tion and  religion.  It  must  begin  in  the  family,  go  forward  in  the 
school,  and  perfect  its  work  finally  in  the  great  congregation,  as  a 
necessary  discipline  for  both  young  and  old.  The  pastors  must 
faithfully  keep  up  the  afternoon  service  on  the  Catechism  every 
Sunday;  besides  visiting  the  schools  frequently,  and  holding  cate- 
chetical exercises,  once  a  week  if  possible,  in  private  houses.  It 
became  a  sort  of  standing  sneer  with  the  Remonstrants,  that  the  book 
was  made  to  be  of  canonical  authority.  The  Bible  might  be,  indeed, 
the  ultimate  rule  of  faith  and  practice  in  Holland ;  but  good  care  was 
taken  by  the  National  Church,  that  it  should  be  the  Bible  only  as 
read  and  construed  through  the  Heidelberg  Catechism. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  this  system  of  catechetical  teaching. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  67 

as  it  prevailed  both  in  Germany  and  Holland,  tended  to  multiply 
commentaries  and  expositions  of  every  sort  on  the  small  but  mighty 
text  book,  which  lay  at  its  foundation.  Köcher,  in  his  Catechetical 
History  of  the  Reformed  Church,  gives  us  notices,  in  alphabetical 
order,  of  more  than  a  hundred  such  works,  besides  referring  to  a 
number  of  others  not  so  well  known.  A  simple  glance  at  this 
catalogue,  bristling  with  such  names  as  Beelsnyder,  Groenewegen, 
Van  der  Hagen,  Hakvoord,  Van  Hattem,  Van  Hoeke,  Van  der  Steeg, 
Van  der  Hooght,  Van  der  Kemp,  Van  Pothoysen,  Venhuysen,  and 
others  of  like  sound,  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  main  part  of  this 
literature  belongs  to  the  Dutch.  The  best  in  either  language,  how- 
ever, was  commonly  translated  into  the  other ;  while  quite  a  number 
of  these  publications  on  both  sides  appeared  originally  in  Latin.  A 
number  of  them  were  highly  popular  in  their  time,  and  passed 
through  many  editions.  Deserving  of  special  notice  in  this  view  is 
the  "  Golden  Jewel "  of  John  D'Outrein,  published  originally  at 
Amsterdam,  1*719,  in  the  Dutch  language ;  afterward  translated  into 
German ;  and  then  diligently  revised  and  enlarged  by  Frederick 
Adolphus  Lampe.  This  large  work  has  been  honored  with  edition 
after  edition,  and  may  be  said  indeed  to  have  carried  with  it,  for  a 
time,  a  sort  of  symbolical  authority  for  ministers  and  teachers,  both  in 
Germany  and  Holland.  Peter  De  Witte's  Commentary,  Amsterdam, 
1658,  translated  into  English  as  well  as  German,  was  also  repub- 
lished a  great  many  times,  and  had  an  immense  reputation.  Of  earlier 
date,  1617,  the  work  of  Festus  Hommius  for  a  long  time  was  more  in 
use  perhaps  than  any  other ;  which,  however,  seems  to  have  been 
a  collection  or  compilation  from  different  sources,  beginning  with 
Ursinus  himself,  rather  than  an  original  exposition  by  the  author 
whose  name  it  bears. 


68  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

The  literature  of  tlie  Catechism  includes  besides  a  number  of  works 
founded  upon  it,  or  suggested  by  it  in  various  ways ;  different  abbrevi- 
ations of  it,  in  the  way  of  extract  or  summary,  for  common  plain  use ; 
and  what  must  not  be  omitted,  various  paraphrases  of  it  also,  more  or 
less  full,  in  verse  and  rhyme.  Thus  we  have,  as  early  as  1597,  Pincer's 
"  Paraphrasis,"  and  afterward  Plante's  "Epigrammata  Sacra,"  both 
written  upon  it  in  Latin  verse.  Christian  Klaarbout  brought  it  out  at 
Amsterdam,  1725,  question  and  answer,  in  full  Dutch  metre,  under  the 
sounding  title  :  "  The  Lustre  of  the  Reformed  Church,  Shining  forth  in 
a  brief  Summary  of  Sacred  Divinity  from  the  Heidelberg  Catechism." 
"We  read  also  of  other  attempts  to  do  it  honor  in  the  same  way. 

So  far  we  have  been  looking  only  at  the  countries  of  Europe.  The 
Heidelberg  Catechism,  however,  has  not  held  itself  to  these  bounds. 
With  the  Dutch  colonies,  it  has  gone  of  course  into  Asia  and  Afi'ica ; 
but  what  is  of  far  more  account,  it  has  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  found 
in  Ameeica  also  a  new  history  and  a  new  home. 

More  than  two  centuries  have  now  passed,  since  it  was  first  erected 
as  a  standard  of  evangelical  orthodoxy  on  the  island  of  Manhattan, 
where  the  city  of  New  York  has  since  grown  to  such  vast  importance. 
Around  it  rallied  the  faith  of  thousands,  transplanted  through  succes- 
sive years  from  the  old  world  to  the  shores  of  the  new.  In  the  midst 
of  ecclesiastical  convulsions  and  rude  political  storms,  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  of  America,  clinging  fast  to  her  hereditary  creed,  has 
since  struck  her  roots  deep  into  the  soil,  and  spread  forth  her  boughs 
luxuriantly  to  the  face  of  heaven,  till  she  has  become  known  and 
honored  throughout  the  whole  Christian  world.  A  century  later  in 
origin,  the  American  German  Reformed  Church — sprung  indeed,  in  a 
certain  sense,  from  the  same  womb,  or  at  least  nursed  in  the  beginning 
by  the  same  maternal  arms — comes  forward  also  to  claim  our  attention. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  69 

She  too  has  had  her  deep  waters  to  pass  through,  whose  billows  had 
wellnigh  swallowed  her  up.  But  the  favor  of  "Him  who  dwelt  in 
the  bush"  has  accompanied  her,  notwithstanding,  in  the  midst  of  her 
most  gloomy  seasons  of  trial.  Though  sorely  tost,  during  a  long  night 
of  desolation,  on  dark  tumultuous  seas,  with  little  notice  and  less 
sympathy,  she  has  not  abandoned  still  the  martyr  faith  of  her  fathers. 
No  force  has  yet  proved  sufficient  to  wrest  from  her  grasp  the  precious 
legacy  bequeathed  to  her  in  the  Heidelberg  Catechism.  At  this  hour, 
she  clings  to  it  with  an  attachment  that  promises  to  grow  stronger 
only  as  it  becomes  more  intelligent ;  rejoicing  and  glorying  in  it,  as  at 
once  the  true  key  to  her  ecclesiastical  life,  and  the  bond  by  which  she 
is.  to  grow  and  become  fully  compacted  together,  in  all  coming  time,  as 
"  a  holy  temple  unto  the  Lord." 

CATHOLIC   CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  SYMBOL. 

The  high  estimation  in  which,  as  we  have  now  seen,  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  has  always  been  held  throughout  the  entire  Keformed 
Church,  is  at  once  in  itself  an  argument  of  its  great  worth.  For  it  was 
by  its  inward  merits  wholly  that  it  came  to  such  general  honor  and 
regard.  Its  authors,  we  have  seen,  were  as  theologians  comparatively 
young ;  not  in  the  rank  of  the  Reformers  properly  so  called,  and  with- 
out any  particular  ecclesiastical  weight  for  the  Church  at  large.  The 
Catechism  was  wholly  a  provincial  interest  in  the  beginning,  intended 
to  serve  the  wants  of  a  single  country,  just  entering  the  sisterhood  of 
older  Reformed  Churches,  without  reference  at  all  to  any  broader 
use.  No  sooner  had  it  appeared,  however,  than  it  began  to  fix  upon 
itself  the  attention  and  admiration  also  of  other  lands.  It  might  have 
been  supposed  that  Calvin's  Catechism  would  be  more  likely,  than 


70  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

any  other,  to  become  of  classical  authority  for  the  Church  at  large. 
But  this,  with  all  others,  gave  way  in  such  view  to  the  new  Catechism 
of  the  Palatinate.  While  other  Catechisms  continued  to  be  provincial 
only,  or  national,  this  assumed  more  and  more  the  character  of  a 
catholic  or  general  symbol.  So  while  each  country  had  also  its  own 
Confession  of  Faith,  Helvetic,  Gallic,  Belgic,  or  otherwise,  the  Heidel- 
berg Catechism  seemed  to  move  among  them  all  with  entire  ease  and 
freedom,  as  a  common  bond  of  union  for  the  whole  Church.  It  was 
welcomed  and  applauded  in  Switzerland,  France,  England,  Scotland, 
and  Holland,  as  well  as  by  all  who  were  friendly  to  the  Reformed 
faith  in  Germany  itself.  Nor  was  this  praise  transient,  an  ephemeral 
burst  of  favor,  followed  again  by  general  neglect.  On  the  contrary, 
the  authority  of  the  Catechism  grew  with  its  age.  It  became  the  Cate- 
chism distinctively  of  the  general  Reformed  Church ;  the  counterpart  in 
full  thus  to  Luther's  Catechism,  in  its  central  relation  to  the  Lutheran 
Church.  In  this  character,  we  find  it  quoted  and  appealed  to,  on  all 
sides,  by  both  friends  and  foes.  It  formed  the  text  book  of  theology 
in  learned  universities.  Profound  divines  (Ursinus,  Alting,  Piscator, 
Cocceius,  Schultens,  and  others)  have  made  it  in  this  way  the  basis  of 
their  dogmatic  systems.  Innumerable  pulpits  and  schools  have  lent  their 
aid  to  give  it  voice  and  power  in  the  world.  It  has  been  as  the  daily 
bread  of  the  sanctuary  to  millions,  generation  after  generation.  Never 
has  a  Catechism  been  more  honored,  in  the  way  of  translations,  com- 
mentaries, and  expositions.  Never  was  any  work  of  the  sort  so 
scattered,  like  leaves  of  the  forest,  in  countless  editions  from  the  press. 
Such  vast  popularity  creates  at  once  a  powerful  presumption  in 
favor  of  the  book,  as  it  goes  also  to  show  us  something  of  its  peculiar 
character  and  constitution.  The  different  national  branches  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  though  forming  together  one  general  communion  in 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  ^l 

distinction  from  tlie  Lutlieran,  have  yet  never  been  wholly  of  one 
mind  in  their  confessional  views.  There  was  a  material  difference,  in 
the  beginning,  between  the  Zuinglian  and  the  Calvinistic  types  of 
doctrine.  Calvin's  doctrine  of  the  decrees  again  was  not  received 
everywhere  in  the  same  form ;  and  with  the  course  of  time,  especially, 
the  relation  between  this  and  the  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  became 
the  occasion  for  differences  of  apprehension,  which  affected  seriously 
the  whole  form  and  structui'e  of  theological  thought.  We  can  easily 
see,  that  there  was  a  difference  in  this  way  between  the  Helvetic 
Church  and  the  Galilean ;  that  neither  of  these  were  just  the  same 
with  the  Belgic  ;  and  that  the  Scotch  Chui'ch  again  had  its  own 
national  peculiarities,  distinguishing  it  in  a  very  marked  manner  from 
all  the  rest.  It  lay  in  the  nature  of  circumstances,  at  the  same  time, 
that  the  Reformed  Church  in  Germany,  conditioned  from  the  first  by 
other  elements  and  relations,  should  also  have  a  character  of  its  own, 
and  not  be  simply  the  transcript  of  some  other  church  life  brought  in 
passively  from  abroad.  Now  that  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  should 
have  been  able,  in  the  midst  of  all  these  differences,  to  gain  such  wide 
acceptance  and  common  favor,  can  be  accounted  for  only  by  supposing 
it  to  be  so  constructed,  that  we  have  in  it  what  may  be  called  the 
proper  substance  of  the  Reformed  faith  in  its  most  general  view,  and  t 
nothing  more.  The  fact  is  an  argument  at  once  for  its  broad,  irenical,  ( 
catholic  spirit,  and  yet  no  less,  at  the  same  time,  for  its  faithfulness  to 
the  common  belief  of  the  Church.  Its  catholicity,  in  other  words,  as  \ 
regards  its  own  confessional  system,  is  not  that  of  indifference  and 
negation  simply ;  it  is  eminently  active  and  positive ;  in  this  respect 
like  the  Apostles'  Creed,  in  its  relation  to  the  whole  profession  of 
Christianity,  than  which,  as  there  is  no  symbol  more  largely  catholic, 
so  is  there  none  also  more  positive  and  vitally  fundamental  to  all  true 


72  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION". 

Christian  faith.  Only  so  can  we  understand,  how  it  should  have 
happened  to  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  above  all  other  Catechisms  and 
Confessions,  to  acquire  and  keep  for  itself  as  it  has  done  the  ecumenical 
credit,  which  has  all  along  been  allowed  to  it  in  the  history  of  the 
Reformed  Church. 

It  is  one  great  merit  of  the  Catechism,  that  it  is  not  offensively 
polemical  or  controversial  in  any  direction.  Its  object  is  in  general 
to  affirm,  more  than  to  contradict  and  deny.  It  is  of  course  Protestant 
throughout,  in  opposition  to  Romanism ;  and  Reformed  also  through- 
out, in  opposition  to  Lutheranism ;  and  it  was  not  possible,  as  the 
world  then  stood,  that  this  opposition  in  both  cases  should  not  assert 
itself,  indirectly  at  least,  in  strong  terms.  Such  theological  thrusts 
were  naturally  singled  out  as  occasions  for  odium  and  reproach,  in  the 
beginning,  by  the  parties  toward  whom  they  were  directed ;  but  look- 
ing at  the  matter  now,  in  the  calm  light  of  history,  we  have  reason  to 
be  surprised,  on  the  whole,  that  it  is  so  free  from  provocation  in  this 
form.  Even  its  antagonism  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  if  we 
except  the  unfortunate  and  somewhat  apocryphal  appendix  to  the 
80th  question,  is  managed  in  a  general  spirit  of  moderation,  which  it 
was  by  no  means  easy  to  maintain  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

SACEAMEKTAL    DOCTELNE. 

The  controversial  relations  of  the  Catechism  with  the  Lutheran 
Church  were  determined  mainly  of  course  by  the  sacramental  question, 
and  look  continually  to  that  order  of  Lutheran  thinking,  which  came 
to  its  culmination  finally,  as  the  true  and  proper  orthodoxy  of  the 
Church,  in  the  Form  of  Concord.  This  brand  of  discord,  as  it  proved 
to  be  afterward,  had  not  yet  indeed  made  its  appearance ;  but  such 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  Y3 

men  as  Brentz  and  Andreae  were  busily  engaged  in  preparing  the  way 
for  its  advent ;  and  the  course  of  things  in  the  Palatinate  had  much 
to  do,  undoubtedly,  with  the  theological  movement  which  was  thus 
in  their  hands.  Near  the  close  of  the  year  1559,  the  superintendents 
and  theologians  of  the  province  of  Wirtemberg  had  met  in  Synod  at 
Stuttgard,  and  adopted  a  new  confession  of  faith,  which  was  intended 
especially  to  fortify  the  orthodoxy  of  the  land,  against  the  irruption  of 
such  errors  as  were  supposed  to  be  at  work  in  the  neighboring  king- 
dom of  Frederick  the  Third.  In  this  Stuttgard  Confession,  as  it  was 
called,  the  peculiar  distinctions  of  full-toned  Lutheranism,  as  distin- 
guished not  simply  from  the  Zuinglian,  but  also  from  the  Calvinistic 
and  Melancthonian  sacramental  theories,  were  formally  proclaimed  as 
the  only  true  faith  of  the  Church ;  and  in  particular,  the  last  conse- 
quence of  the  system,  the  transcendental  ubiquity  or  omnipresence  of 
Christ's  glorified  body,  as  a  result  of  the  so-called  commiüiicatio  idio- 
matum^  was  for  the  first  time  unshi'inkingly  declared  to  be  a  necessary 
part  of  the  Lutheran  creed.  It  was  in  truth  an  embryonic  anticipa- 
tion of  the  Form  of  Concord  itself,  and  opened  the  way  for  the 
general  ubiquitarian  controversy  of  which  this  was  finally  the  grand 
confessional  outgrowth  and  birth. 

Coming  out  now  in  the  midst  of  this  controversy,  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  took  ground  quietly  against  all  such  spiritualization  of 
Christ's  body,  by  simply  affirming,  on  the  subject  of  His  ascension  and 
glorification  (qu.  46-48),  that  He  "  was  taken  up  from  the  earth  into 
heaven,  and  in  our  behalf  there  continues  until  He  shall  come  again 
to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead  " — "  that  according  to  His  human 
nature,  He  is  now  not  upon  earth,  but  according  to  His  Godhead, 
majesty,  grace,  and  Spirit,  He  is  at  no  time  absent  from  us ; "  which, 
however,  involves  no  disjunction  of  His  two  natures;  "  for  since  the 
10 


Y4  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Godhead  is  incompreliensible  and  everywhere  present,  it  must  follow 
that  it  is  indeed  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  Manhood  which  it  has  as- 
sumed, but  is  yet  none  the  less  in  the  same  also,  and  remains  personal- 
X  ly  united  to  it."  This  of  course,  then,  conditions  again  the  view  that 
is  taken  of  our  communion  with  the  Saviour  in  the  Lord's  Supper ; 
which  holds  good,  we  are  told  qu.  76,  "though  Christ  is  in  heaven 
and  we  on  the  earth ; "  the  Lord's  Supper  being  an  assurance  (qu.  80) 
"  that  by  the  Holy  Ghost  we  are  ingrafted  into  Christ,  who  with  His 
true  body  is  now  in  heaven,  at  the  right  hand  of  God  His  Father, 
and  is  to  be  there  worshipped" — whereas  the  Roman  Mass  teaches 
"  that  Christ  is  bodily  under  the  form  of  bread  and  wine,  and  is  there- 
fore to  be  worshipped  in  them." 

It  was  here  mainly  that  the  Suabian  theologians  found  occasion 
for  assailing  the  Catechism  with  those  strictures,  which  drew  forth 
Ursinus  again  so  vigorously  in  its  defence.  In  the  Maulbron  Con- 
ference of  1564,  which  proved  so  severe  a  trial  to  his  morbid  spirit, 
the  discussion  was  occupied  for  five  days  with  the  subject  of  Christ's 
glorification  and  omnipresence  in  the  world,  coming  only  on  the  sixth 
and  last  day  to  the  question  of  His  presence  in  the  Holy  Eucharist. 
Then  we  have  the  same  controversy — "  infelix  bellum  ubiquitarium 
et  sacraraentarium  " — ^kept  up  for  years  through  the  press.  Finally, 
the  Form  of  Concord  came  out;  and  the  last  great  publication  of 
Ursinus,  as  we  have  seen,  was  his  Christian  Admonition  in  reply, 
which  was  held  by  many  to  be  the  ablest  work  that  the  whole 
controversy  had  produced. 

There  is  no  room  for  any  mistake,  thus,  with  regard  to  the 
sacramental  and  Christological  teaching  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism, 
so  far  as  antagonism  to  Lutheran  theology  in  this  form  is  concerned. 
But  we  need  to  have  this  main  issue,  as  it  stood  at  the  time,  distinctly 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  '^S 

and  clearly  before  our  minds,  in  order  that  we  may  not  fall  into  tlie 
mistake,  on  tlie  other  side,  of  lowering  its  sense  to  the  measure  of 
wholly  different  relations.  To  deny  the  allenthalhenheit  (everywhere- 
ness)  of  Christ's  glorified  body,  and  so  to  reject  the  notion  of  its  local 
comprehension  in  the  sacramental  elements,  did  not  amount  by  any 
means,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  as  for  many  it  might  seem  to  do  now, 
to  a  denial  of  the  objective  working  of  His  human  bodily  life  in  the 
sacrament,  in  any  and  every  way.  Clearly  the  Catechism  could  mean 
no  such  radical  negation  as  that ;  for  this  would  have  been  to  turn 
into  something  worse  than  folly  its  professed  relations  to  the  Lutheran 
Church,  as  well  as  the  whole  ubiquitarian  controversy  itself,  so  ear- 
nestly carried  on  by  its  friends,  for  years,  with  the  theologians  of 
Tübingen.  As  we  have  seen  before,  the  Catechism  was  not  intended, 
in  the  beginning,  to  be  a  ruptm'e  in  full  with  the  German  Lutheran 
Church.  It  was  supposed  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  Confession  of 
Augsburg,  as  explained  by  Melancthon  himself.  In  its  sacramental 
doctrine,  therefore,  it  was  held  to  come  fairly  within  the  range  of  the 
tenth  article  of  that  Confession  in  its  changed  form ;  which,  it  will  be 
remembered,  differs  from  its  original  form,  only  in  not  making  the 
communication  of  Christ's  body  and  blood  in  the  sacrament  to  be  in 
and  under  the  elements,  while  it  is  stul  declared  to  go  along  with 
them,  as  part  of  the  transaction,  in  the  most  real  way.  The  mystery 
of  the  fact  itself  remains  as  a  necessary  article  of  faith ;  only  the 
question  of  the  mode  or  manner  of  it  is  left  without  any  sort  of 
determination.  In  this  view,  unquestionably,  the  doctrine  of  Melanc- 
thon here  must  be  considered  the  doctrine  also  of  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism.  So  far  as  the  fact  of  the  sacramental  mystery  is  concerned, 
the  last  was  supposed  at  least  to  mean  all  that  was  required  by  the 
first. 


K 


76  mSTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

We  can  Lave  no  better  authority  or  evidence  on  this  subject  tlian 
the  formal  defence  of  the  sacramental  doctrine  of  the  Catechism, 
which  was  di'awn  up  by  Ursinus  himself,  at  the  request  of  the  Elector 
Frederick,  and  published  March,  1564,  in  the  name  of  the  whole 
theological  faculty  of  Heidelberg,  for  the  very  purpose  of  setting 
before  the  world  the  true  position  of  the  Palatinate  with  regard  to 
this  whole  subject.  The  work  to  which  we  refer  is  the  famous 
"  Gründlicher  Bericht,"  the  same  which  in  Latin  bears  the  title : 
"  Vera  doctrina  de  sacra  Jesu  Christi  coena."  Here  we  have  the 
points  urged,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  the  body  of  Christ  is  in 
heaven ;  that  it  cannot  be,  therefore,  in  the  sacramental  bread ;  that 
the  elements  are  signs  and  seals  of  the  things  they  represent,  and  not 
the  things  themselves ;  that  these  require  a  different  kind  of  giving 
and  receiving,  and  are  enjoyed  only  through  the  right  use  of  the 
sacrament ;  that  they  become  ours  then,  not  by  the  mouth,  but  only 
by  faith  ;  and  that  unbelievers,  consequently,  receive  in  the  sacrament 
its  outward  signs  only,  and  nothing  more.  All  this  is  abundantly 
plain.  But  the  very  object  of  the  vindication  is  to  show,  that  all  this 
is  by  no  means  the  whole  of  the  Heidelberg  doctrine,  as  it  was  the 
fashion  of  its  calumniators  to  misrepresent.  The  signs,  we  are  told, 
are  not  void  signs,  figures  only  of  something  which  has  place  without 
them.  Where  the  sacrament  is  rightly  used,  that  is,  where  faith  is  at 
hand,  the  proper  organ  for  the  reception  of  the  heavenly  gift,  this  gift 
goes  along  with  the  outward  exhibition  which  is  made  of  it  by  the 
signs,  really  and  truly ;  so  that  they  are  in  very  deed,  through  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  medium  and  organ  of  its  communication 
at  the  time.  They  are  not  themselves  the  gift ;  they  have  no  power 
in  themselves  to  produce  it ;  but  still  they  are  so  bound  to  it  in  the 
way  of  certification  and  pledge,  by  the  wonder-working  power  of 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  77 

God's  Spii'it,  that  they  become  in  tlieir  right  outward  use  actual 
vehicles  of  it  to  the  inward  appropriation  of  faith.  What  is  thus 
communicated  to  the  believer,  moreover,  is  not  simply  the  merits  of 
Christ,  the  benefits  He  has  procured  for  us  by  His  death,  but  Christ 
Himself,  His  "  person,  substance,  and  being,"  through  which  alone,  it  is 
said,  we  can  have  any  part  in  such  benefits  and  merits.  This  mystical 
union  forms  the  general  law  of  the  Christian  life ;  which  it  is  then  the 
object  of  the  sacrament,  however,  not  simply  to  signify  in  such  general 
view,  but  to  actuate  and  carry  into  effectual  force  in  the  very  article 
of  its  own  transaction.  And  what  is  thus  received,  we  are  told 
farther,  is  not  the  life  of  Christ  simply  as  exhibited  in  His  divine 
nature,  but  more  especially  His  proper  human  life,  nothing  less  in 
truth  than  that  once  crucified  body  in  which  He  reigns,  now  risen 
from  the  dead,  at  God's  right  hand  in  heaven.  "  The  Lord's  Supper," 
it  is  said  in  plain  terms,  "  is  a  visible,  but  in  no  sense  a  mere  empty 
or  vain  sign,  wherein  all  believers  not  only  partake  of  all  Christ's 
benefits,  but  also,  since  Christ  thereby  hath  promised  and  therewith 
testifies  as  much,  are  fed  and  refreshed  with  the  true,  essential  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  Himself,  as  really  and  certainly  as  with  the 
visible  bread  and  wine."  Again,  in  terms  if  possible  still  more 
explicit  and  strong,  we  have  the  declaration :  "  That  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  are  in  His  Hohj  Supper,  and  that  they  are  therein 
also  truly  eaten  and  drunken,  we  know  from  God's  Word,  and  confess 
as  much  with  mouth  and  heart  before  God  and  all  angels  and  men ; 
but  that  He  is  therefore  in  the  hread^  we  find  not  written  in  God's 
Word."  Here  we  have  the  distinction,  which  serves  to  explain  all. 
Not  in  the  bread ;  but  yet  none  the  less  in  the  transaction.  Not 
therefore  in  the  way  of  any  local  comprehension ;  but  yet  none  the 
less  certainly,  in  a  way  transcending,  for  faith,  all  merely  local  rela- 


Y8  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

tions  by  tlie  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  actus  in  actu  thus,  the 
working  of  the  Spirit  in  His  own  sphere  going  along  with  the  sacra- 
mental ministration  in  the  sphere  of  nature,  and  filling  out  the  true 
and  proper  sense  of  it  in  another  order  of  existence  altogether.  In 
this  view  the  fact  of  the  Saviour's  glorified  body  being  in  heaven  only, 
and  not  on  the  earth,  is  considered  to  be  no  bar  at  all  to  the  idea  of 
a  real  communion  with  it  in  the  sacrament.  It  can  seem  so  only 
to  those  whose  minds  are  so  preoccupied  with  the  notion  of  local  and 
physical  connection,  that  they  have  no  power  to  rise  to  the  far  higher 
conception  of  a  true  dynamical  connection  through  the  Spirit.  Even 
in  the  sphere  of  nature,  there  are  what  may  be  called  physical  unions 
of  things  locally  separate  and  distinct,  which  far  exceed  in  intimacy 
and  closeness  all  merely  local  contact  or  inbeing.  Such  is  the  union 
of  the  vine  with  its  branches,  and  the  union  of  the  head  with  the 
members  of  the  human  body.;  which  are  especially  employed  in  the 
New  Testament  to  represent  the  very  mystery  of  which  we  are  now 
speaking,  the  communication  of  Christ's  life  to  His  people.  Why 
then  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  impossible  for  this  to  have  place 
in  the  sacrament,  so  that,  although  "  Christ  is  in  heaven  and  we  on 
the  earth,"  we  may  nevertheless  come  into  communion  there  with  His 
blessed  body  itself,  through  the  working  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  a  way 
surpassing  all  natural  understanding  ?  "  The  ascension  of  Christ  into 
heaven,"  the  theologians  of  Heidelberg,  with  Ursinus  at  their  head, 
here  tell  us,  "  leaves  His  body  indeed  in  the  Holy  Supper,  but  not  in 
the  bread ;  for  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  whose  power  and  working  things 
far  asunder  as  regards  place  are  as  closely  bound  and  joined  as  though 
they  were  together  in  the  same  place,  unites  and  binds  us,  who  are  on 
the  earth,  with  the  body  of  Christ  which  is  in  heaven,  a  thousand 
times  more  closely  and  firmly  than  the  members  of  our  body  are 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  »79 

bound  together.  For  wliicli  reason  tlie  body  of  Christ  is  not  alone  in 
the  Lord's  Supper,  but  is  also  eaten  therein." 

After  all  this  we  can  feel  no  surprise,  in  finding  the  last  part  of 
the  "  Gründlicher  Bericht "  devoted  to  the  purpose  of  showing,  that 
the  Heidelberg  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper  stood  in  no  op230sition 
whatever  to  the  tenth  article  of  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

It  is  easy  to  recognize  here  the  general  sacramental  system  of 
Calvin ;  but  we  have  no  right  to  say,  that  it  was  borrowed  exactly 
from  Calvin  himself.  It  seems  rather  to  have  been  reached  in  an 
independent  way,  as  the  result  of  what  we  have  seen  to  be  the 
Melancthonian  tendency  of  thought  in  Germany  itself;  though  the 
influence  of  Calvin  had  something  to  do  also,  no  doubt,  with  Ursinus 
especially,  in  determining  the  particular  form  of  its  conception  and 
expression  at  certain  points.  With  the  merits  of  the  theory  we  are 
not  now  concerned.  Let  it  pass  for  what  it  is  worth ;  all  we  wish  is 
to  have  it  fairly  understood,  that  this,  and  no  other,  is  the  scheme  of 
thinking,  which  underlies  the  sacramental  doctrine  of  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism.  With  all  its  opposition  to  the  notion  of  a  local  presence 
of  Christ's  body  in  the  sacrament,  and  the  thought  of  everything  like 
a  corporal  and  carnal  partaking  of  it  in  the  use  of  the  sacramental 
elements,  the  Catechism  seeks  just  as  earnestly  on  the  other  hand  to 
save,  in  a  different  way,  what  may  be  called  the  proper  mystery  of  the 
institution  in  this  view,  against  all  attempts  to  drag  it  do-wTi  into  the 
sphere  of  mere  nature.  Its  view  is  mystical,  making  heavy  demands 
on  faith ;  not  rationalistic,  requiring  for  its  apprehension  only  the 
common  reason  of  men.  So  much,  indeed,  is  evident  at  once  from  the 
labored  effort,  which  so  strikingly  characterizes  the  phraseology  of  its 
several  questions  in  relation  to  this  whole  subject.  The  doctrine 
plainly  struggles  throughout,  that  in  avoiding  the  Scylla  of  materialism 


80  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

on  tlie  one  side,  it  may  not  faU  over  to  tlie  Chaiybdis  of  an  equally 
false  spiritualism  on  tlie  other. 

EESEKVE    ON   THE    DECREES. 

Substantially  Calvinistic  as  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  is,  however, 
in  its  doctrine  of  the  sacraments,  it  has  carefully  refrained  from  com- 
mitting itself  in  like  manner  to  Calvin's  doctrine  of  the  decrees.  This 
is  the  more  remarkable,  as  both  of  its  authors,  Ursinus  and  Olevianus, 
are  known  to  have  been  themselves  strenuous  disciples  here  of  the  great 
Genevan  teacher ;  which,  however,  only  goes  again  with  other  things 
to  show,  how  in  this  work  a  sort  of  general  objective  spirit,  in  their 
ecclesiastical  surroundings,  seems  to  have  taken  possession  of  them, 
and  to  have  made  use  of  them  as  organs  for  reaching  its  own  end. 
There  is  an  innate  opposition  here,  unquestionably,  between  the  two 
sides  of  Calvin's  system,  as  it  was  taught  by  himself  in  the  sixteenth 
century ;  his  theory  of  election  and  reprobation  can  never  be  made  to 
agree  fully  with  the  old  church  idea  which  he  labored  with  so  much 
ingenuity  to  conserve  in  his  theory  of  the  sacraments.  Where  an 
abstract  unconditional  decree  is  made  to  be  the  principle  of  the  whole 
Christian  salvation,  in  such  way  that  this  is  supposed  to  be  only  for  a 
predestinated  number  of  the  human  family,  and  to  have  no  real  regard 
whatever  to  any  who  may  stand  from  their  birth  outside  of  such 
election — it  is  not  easy  to  see  certainly,  how  much  earnest  can  be 
made  with  the  outward,  historical,  organic  character  of  Christianity 
generally,  or  how  there  can  be  any  room  in  particular  for  the  concep- 
tion of  sacramental  grace  in  a  truly  objective  form.  And  so  it  has 
been  found  in  fact,  in  the  history  of  the  Reformed  Church,  that  these 
two  forms  of  thinking  have  not  been  able  to  exist  in  fall  force  for  any 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION^.  81 

lengtli  of  time  together.  Where  the  Calvinlstic  theory  of  the  decrees 
has  been  allowed  to  rule  the  course  of  theology,  the  Calvinistic  theory 
of  the  sacraments  has  gradually  lost  its  meaning  altogether ;  whereas, 
in  proportion  as  the  sense  of  the  sacramental  has  prevailed  anywhere, 
as  in  Germany  especially,  the  doctrine  of  the  decrees  has  been  held 
only  with  much  qualification  and  reserve.  In  any  view,  it  must  be 
considered  a  recommendation  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  that  it  has 
i  not  allowed  itself  to  go  into  this  labyrinth  of  speculation ;  and  most 
of  all,  that  it  has  not  made  a  metaphysical  principle,  in  this  way,  the 
root  and  regulating  law  of  its  religious  teachings.  For  children  in 
particular,  all  such  constructions  of  Christianity  are  something  to  be 
deprecated  and  deplored.  But  we  may  go  farther  and  say,  that  they 
are  out  of  character  in  any  confession  or  creed,  designed  for  general 
church  use,  or  proposed  as  the  basis  of  common  Christian  communion. 
Universally,  indeed,  an  extensive,  complicated  creed  must  be  regarded 
as  a  great  evil ;  and  the  Church  is  to  be  congratulated,  that  can  be 
content  to  measure  its  orthodoxy  by  so  simple  and  general  a  formulary 
as  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  to  the  exclusion  of  every  less  liberal 
standard.  No  platform  of  ecclesiastical  faith  should  ever  be  less  large 
and  free ;  whether  even  this  be  not  too  circumscribed,  may  well  be 
made  a  question. 

Some  have  presumed  to  say,  that  the  Catechism  carries  with  it 
an  actually  Arminian  sense  at  times,  in  the  view  it  takes  of  the  plan 
of  salvation.  We  have  seen  already,  that  Arminius  himself,  and  his 
party  in  Holland,  affected  to  consider  it  in  general  harmony  with  their 
views.  But  we  know,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  plea  was  never 
allowed  to  be  of  any  real  force  in  their  favor.  The  party  themselves 
showed  clearly  enough  that  they  felt  the  real  sense  of  the  Catechism 
to  be  strongly  against  them,  by  their  persevering  endeavors  to 
11 


82  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

destroy  its  authority  and  credit ;  wliile  the  Synod  of  Dort,  speaking 
not  simply  for  the  Dutch  Church,  but  for  the  Reformed  Confession 
in  all  lands,  took  it  fully  into  their  confidence  and  trust  as  a  true 
exposition  of  their  coromon  faith.  It  requires,  indeed,  very  little 
examination,  to  perceive  that  the  order  of  thinking  which  runs  through 
the  whole  work  is  utterly  opposed  to  the  Pelagian  scheme  in  every 
form.  Nowhere  do  we  find  represented  in  more  decided  terms,  the 
helplessness  of  man,  through  the  fall,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  absolute 
sovereignty  of  God's  grace,  in  the  work  of  his  salvation,  on  the  other. 

Thus,  as  we  know,  the  Catechism  has  its  first  part  devoted  entirely 
to  the  consideration  of  the  misery  of  man  in  his  fallen  state,  as  some- 
thing necessary  to  be  well  understood,  in  order  that  we  may  come  to 
any  proper  knowledge  of  our  redemption  through  Christ.  It  begins, 
accordingly,  by  asserting  in  the  strongest  manner  the  general  depravity 
and  corruption  of  our  nature,  brought  to  pass  through  the  wholesale 
ruin  of  the  fall.  Not  only  is  the  fact  affirmed,  that  all  men  are 
involved  in  the  terrible  contradiction  of  sin,  (qu.  3-5)  ;  but  this  fact 
is  referred  also  to  its  true  ground,  as  holding,  not  just  in  the  individual 
will,  but  in  the  common  life  of  the  race  itself  (qu.  6,  7).  "  Our  nature 
is  become  so  corrupt,  that  we  are  all  conceived  and  born  in  sin."  The 
evil  is  deep  and  broad  as  humanity  itself,  and  not  of  a  kind  therefore  to 
be  ever  surmounted  by  the  individual  man  in  himself  considered.  This 
at  once  strikes  at  the  root  of  all  Pelagianism.  The  ruin  is  organic, 
and  as  such,  needs  an  organic  redemption — a  redemption  of  humanity 
in  its  wholeness  first  of  all,  as  the  only  way  of  bringing  true  deliver- 
ance to  any  particular  or  single  life  embraced  in  this  whole.  That 
which  is  born  of  the  flesh,  the  nature  of  man  in  its  fallen  state,  is  flesh, 
and  in  and  of  itself  must  ever  remain  such ;  can  never  leave  itself 
behind ;  can  never  transcend  really  and  truly  its  own  sphere  (qu.  8). 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  83 

Our  spiritual  nature,  in  this  way,  is  in  ruins ;  its  powers  paralyzed ; 
"  wholly  unapt  to  any  good,  and  prone  to  all  evil ; "  though  still  under 
law,  and  possessed  of  a  capacity  for  salvation.  If  it  be  asked  now, 
how  this  tremendous  lapse  originally  took  place,  no  attempt  is  made 
to  fathom  the  full  depth  of  the  mystery.  We  are  only  told,  in  general 
tei'ms,  that  it  came  not  from  God,  but  from  the  free  will  of  man  him- 
self. Our  first  parents  were  holy,  and  had  power  to  keep  their  first 
estate  ;  they  were  under  no  supralapsarian  necessity  of  falling ;  but  by 
their  own  wilful  disobedience  they  fell  in  fact,  and  so  brought  sin  and 
death  upon  the  entire  race  (qu.  9).  The  origin  of  sin,  beyond  this,  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism  seeks  not  to  explain.  It  rejects  all  Manichean 
necessity  on  the  one  side,  while  it  rejects  also  all  Pelagian  freedom 
on  the  other ;  and,  like  the  Bible  itself,  takes  its  course  firmly  between 
these  two  irreligious  extremes,  leaving  the  understanding  to  manage 
its  own  embarrassment  in  the  case  as  it  best  can.  There  are  truths  in 
this  way,  truths  too  of  the  most  important  and  most  immediately 
practical  sort,  whose  very  nature  it  is  to  involve  dialectic  contradic- 
tions, not  to  be  reconciled  by  the  understanding  in  its  common  form. 
The  mind  must  receive  them,  if  they  are  to  be  received  at  all,  through 
another  sort  of  knowledQ:e  altosfether. 

What  was  lost  in  Adam,  the  Catechism  goes  on  to  teach  in  the 
next  place,  has  been  recovered  for  us  again,  and  more  than  recovered 
in  Christ.  He  is  the  fountain  of  the  whole  Christian  salvation 
(qu.  18),  having  in  Himself  all  the  qualifications  which  are  needed  to 
constitute  a  perfect  medium  of  reconciliation  or  atonement  between 
the  human  nature  and  the  divine  (qu.  12-17)  ;  being  in  His  own 
person  in  fact  the  fullest  conjunction  of  both ;  so  that  "  the  same 
human  nature  which  has  sinned  "  is  brought  to  make  full  satisfaction 
for  sin,  and  to  become  thus  the  righteousness  of  God  for  the  race  at 


g4  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

large,  in  Him  and  through  Him  as  the  second  Adam.  To  the  full 
benefit  of  this  glorious  redemption,  however,  only  those  of  the  race 
come,  who  are  united  to  Christ  by  faith ;  which  involves  the  living 
apprehension,  not  simply  of  an  abstract  doctrine,  but  of  the  whole 
perennial  fact  of  Christianity  itself,  as  we  have  it  embodied  in  the 
Apostles'  Creed  (qu.  21-59).  The  great  cardinal  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith  alone,  through  the  imputation  of  Christ's  "  satisfaction, 
righteousness,  and  holiness,"  in  opposition  to  the  idea  of  any  merit  on 
the  part  of  the  believer  himself,  is  asserted  in  the  strongest  terms 
(qu.  60-64).  But  this  threefold  imputation  is  held  to  be  of  such  a 
character,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  grace  which  is  thus  objectively 
made  over  to  us  in  Christ,  carries  along  with  it  from  the  very  start  the 
principle  of  our  personal  sanctification.  The  apprehension  and  appro- 
priation of  it  tlirough  faith,  cause  it  to  become  at  once  the  power  of  a 
new  divine  life  in  the  subject  of  this  faith ;  "  for  it  is  impossible " 
(we  are  told,  qu.  64)  "  that  those  who  are  implanted  into  Christ,  by 
true  faith,  should  not  bring  forth  fruits  of  thankfulness."  Faith  itself, 
which  thus  comprehends  in  itself  the  whole  force  of  the  Christian  life, 
is  no  product  simply  of  the  thinking  and  willing  of  men.  The  Holy 
Ghost  "  works  it  in  our  hearts  by  the  preaching  of  the  Holy  Gospel, 
and  confirms  it  by  the  use  of  the  Holy  Sacraments  "  (qu.  65-85). 

All  is  of  grace ;  and  the  divine  sovereignty  reigns  supreme 
throuo-hout  the  entire  work.  But  now  when  we  fall  back  upon  the 
4eep  questions  that  concern  the  relation  of  this  sovereignty  to  human 
freedom,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  as  in  the  case  of  the  origin  of  sin 
before,  is  again  significantly  silent.  Not  only  does  it  shrink  from 
asserting  the  supralapsarian  theory  of  the  decrees — the  fall  and  ruin 
of  the  whole  race  ordained  from  all  eternity,  in  order  to  open  the  way 
for  the  predetermined  salvation  of  a  certain  limited  number  of  the 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  85 

race — ^wtlch  is  after  all  the  only  really  consistent  form  of  metapliysical 
Calvinism ;  but  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  decrees  is  left  untouched, 
:  except  as  it  may  seem  to  be  comprised  in  the  doctrine  of  God's 
/  almighty  and  everywhere  present  providence.  The  idea  of  predestina- 
tion to  life  is  brought  no  closer  than  this  :  that  of  the  fallen  posterity 
of  Adam  those  only  are  saved  by  Christ,  who  "  by  true  faith  are 
ingrafted  into  Him,  and  receive  all  His  benefits  "  (qu.  20)  ;  or  that  the 
Son  of  God  gathers  and  preserves  for  Himself,  out  of  the  whole  hiunan 
race,  unto  everlasting  life,  "  a  chosen  communion,  in  the  unity  of  the 
true  faith"  (qu.  54).  Still  less,  of  course,  do  we  hear  formally  of 
anything  like  a  decree  of  absolute  reprobation ;  or  of  what  is  the  neces- 
sary consequence  of  this,  and  only  another  manner  of  expressing  the 
same  thing,  such  a  limitation  of  the  atonement,  as  makes  it  be  of  no 
force  whatever  for  humanity  in  general,  but  only  for  a  fragmentary 
part  of  it,  numerically  settled  and  fixed  beforehand  in  the  Divine 
Mind.  The  Catechism  knows  nothing  of  any  such  particular  redemp- 
tion, offered  to  all,  but  intended  only  for  some,  and  carrying  in  it  for 
others  no  possibility  of  salvation  whatever.  On  the  contrary,  regardless 
here  of  all  difficulties,  and  true  to  all  sound  religious  feeling,  it  plainly 
declares,  in  conformity  mth  the  unequivocal  sense  of  the  Scriptures 
themselves,  that  Christ  "  bore,  in  body  and  soul,  the  Tvrath  of  God 
against  the  sin  of  the  whole  human  race  "  (qu.  37)  ;  which  is  of  course 
implied  also  in  what  is  asserted  before  of  its  being  necessary  for  Him 
to  be  very  man,  in  order  that  the  "  same  human  nature  "  which  sinned 
in  Adam,  might  in  Him  again,  as  the  new  Adam,  "  make  satisfaction 
for  sin,"  and  so  "  obtain  for,  and  restore  to  us,  righteousness  and  life  " 
(qu.  16,  17). 

So  also  if  the  question  be  asked,  whether  God's  grace  be  irresist- 
ible in  the  conversion  of  men,  and  incapable  of  being  altogether  lost 


/ 


86  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

afterward,  we  look  in  vain  for  any  direct  answer  to  it  in  the  Heidel- 
berg Catechism.  It  holds  itself  here,  as  before,  to  the  general,  popular 
representations  of  the  Bible,  without  pretending  to  solve  the  philo- 
sophical problems  that  lie  behind  them.  As  it  does  not  teach  an 
unconditional  election,  so  neither  does  it  affirm  the  absolute  invincible- 
ness  of  grace  in  the  work  of  conversion ;  while  the  doctrine  of  what  is 
called  the  necessary  perseverance  of  the  saints  is  left  by  it,  in  great 
measure  at  least,  unmooted  and  unsettled. 
,  /  It  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  Catechism,  indeed,  that  it  makes  faith  to 
include  in  it  an  assured  confidence  of  a  personal  interest  in  the 
everlasting  righteousness  and  salvation  of  the  Gospel  (qu.  21) ;  on  the 
ground  of  which  then  the  believer  is  represented  throughout,  as 
enjoying  a  present  certainty  of  all  that  has  been  procured  for  him  by 
Christ,  on  to  the  full  blessedness  of  heaven  itself  in  the  end.  This  is 
brought  out  especially  in  the  very  first  question,  with  great  beauty 
and  force.  But  in  all  this,  regard  is  had  not  so  much  to  the  idea  of  a 
decree  of  election  on  the  part  of  God,  making  salvation  certain  for  His 
chosen  ones  in  an  outwardly  objective  view,  as  to  the  sense  rather 
which  they  have  in  themselves  of  the  all  sufficiency  of  His  grace,  and 
of  their  own  security  as  being  comprehended  in  its  present  power. 
They  know  themselves  to  have  in  Christ  all  things  that  pertain  to 
godliness  and  salvation,  not  only  for  this  world,  but  also  for  that 
which  is  to  come.  But  no  such  inward  persuasion,  however  true  and 
clear  it  may  be  in  itself,  can  ever  authenticate  the  outward  fact  of 
their  being  predestinated,  without  the  possibility  of  failure,  to  ever- 
lasting life ;  nor  can  it  be  said  properly  to  rest  at  all  on  the 
knowledge  of  any  such  fact.  We  know,  moreover,  that  the  inward 
persuasion  may  itself  fail  and  come  to  an  end,  at  least  for  a  time ; 
for   all   admit   the   possibility  of  such  temporary   backslidings   and 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  87 

defections,  in  the  case  of  believers,  as  shall  completely  eclipse,  while 
they  last,  any  assurance  they  may  have  had  before  of  the  certainty 
of  their  own  salvation.  This  of  itself  then  is  sufficient  to  show,  that 
the  mere  confidence  of  faith,  however  just,  is  not  at  once  a  conclusive 
argument  for  the  continuation  of  its  own  present  good  estate  unto  the 
end ;  and  so  the  strong  language  of  the  Catechism  in  regard  to  this 
confidence  may  agree  very  well,  after  all,  with  the  supposition  that 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  falling  away  hopelessly  from  a  state  of  gi'ace. 
The  ark  may  include  all  that  is  necessary  to  outride  the  flood,  and 
land  its  rescued  ones  on  Ararat  in  the  end ;  and  they  may  have,  while 
in  it,  the  fullest  assurance  of  their  safety  in  this  way ;  but  that  is  not 
just  in  and  of  itself  such  a  foregone  certainty  of  their  final  deliverance, 
as  makes  it  impossible  for  them  to  forsake  the  ark,  and  so  lose  their 
hold  on  what  was  real  and  true  for  them  only  while  remaining  in  its  \/ 
bosom.  These  two  terms,  as  we  know,  the  assurance  of  Christian  ' 
hope  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  peril  of  coming  short  of  the  same  hope 
on  the  other,  are  joined  together  all  through  the  New  Testament,  as 
cooperating  forces  or  motives  in  the  work  of  our  salvation.  We  are 
to  give  diligence  to  "  make  our  calling  and  election  sure  ; "  we  are  to 
"  fear  lest,  a  promise  being  left  us  of  entering  into  His  rest,  any  of  us 
should  seem  to  come  short  of  it ; "  "  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ, 
if  we  hold  the  beorinnino;  of  our  confidence  steadfast  unto  the  end." 
The  teaching  of  the  Catechism  in  regard  to  the  perseverance  of  the 
saints  goes  thus  far,  but  it  cannot  be  said  to  go  any  farther.  All  back 
of  this  is  a  philosophical  question,  which  it  nowhere  pretends  to  solve 
1  or  settle. 

Here  then  is  a  material  difference  between  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism and  many  of  the  larger  Confessions  of  Faith  which  have 
appeared  in  the  Reformed  Church.     It  may  be  said  indeed,  that  the 


88  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Calvinistic  points  to  which  we  have  now  referred  are  at  least  involved 
or  implicated  in  its  general  system  of  doctrine.  So  it  must  have 
seemed,  of  course,  to  that  part  of  the  Reformed  communion,  for  which 
these  points  had  become  of  confessional  authority ;  since  it  could  not 
otherwise  have  been  indorsed,  as  it  was  for  instance  by  the  Synod  of 
^  Dort,  as  sound  and  orthodox.  But  this  only  shows  that  the  Cate- 
chism leaves  these  points  untouched ;  allowing  room  thus,  as  the  Bible 
itself  also  does,  for  different  methods  of  carrying  out  its  general 
doctrine.  These  strong  Calvinistic  positions  hold  beyond  its  practical 
horizon.  The  Belgic  Church  might  consider  them  necessary  to  com- 
plete her  theological  system ;  but  there  has  always  been  a  part  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  in  Germany  more  particularly,  which  has  not 
received  them,  though  willing  enough  to  own  the  general  platform  of 
the  Heidelbers:  Catechism.  This  is  so  constructed  as  to  afford  fair 
opportunity  for  such  difference.  The  authors  of  it  seem  to  have  held 
their  own  theological  convictions  purposely  in  a  certain  measure  of 
abeyance,  in  order  that  they  might  be  true  to  the  church  life  around 
them ;  which,  as  we  know,  included  much  that  could  never  have  been 
satisfied  with  extreme  Calvinism  on  the  subject  of  the  decrees.  Or 
rather  perhaps,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  the  peculiar  order  and 
method  of  their  work,  after  it  had  been  once  fairly  adopted,  served  to 
determine  its  reigning  character  here,  with  a  sort  of  inward  necessity 
flowing  from  the  nature  of  the  subject  itself. 

Some  have  gone  so  far  as  to  charge  the  Catechism  with  contra- 
dicting itself,  because  it  is  thus  comprehensive  in  its  views ;  appearing 
occasionally  to  favor  in  one  direction,  what  it  may  be  thought  to 
oppose  again  in  another.  But  in  this  it  only  resembles  the  broad 
comprehensiveness  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  themselves ;  which  also 
countenance,  in  some  cases,  what  seem  to  be  conflicting  views ;  though 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  89 

it  must  always  be  assumed,  of  course,  that  they  are  not  such  in  fact, 
but  require  only  a  deeper  knowledge  than  we  now  have,  to  be  seen  in 
their  proper  concord  and  agreement.  All  great  truths  indeed,  it  has 
been  said,  are  polar ;  carry  in  themselves  opposing  forces  or  powers, 
whose  very  contradiction  is  found  to  be  necessary  at  last  to  the  true 
harmony  of  their  constitution. 

CONCEPTION   AND   PLAN. 

Much  depends  for  the  spirit  of  the  Catechism,  no  doubt,  on  the 
plan  of  its  construction.  This  is  in  a  measure  peculiarly  its  own,  and 
differs  materially  from  what  was  common  in  formularies  of  this  sort 
before.  The  Ten  Commandments,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Creed, 
form  of  course  the  proper  basis  of  all  right  catechetical  instruction,  to 
which  must  be  joined  then  some  notice  of  the  Word  and  Sacraments 
as  means  of  grace ;  but  it  is  not  at  once  so  clear  in  what  order  these 
general  topics  should  be  handled,  and  then  there  may  be  much  differ- 
ence of  judgment  also  as  to  what  exactly  should  be  embraced  under 
each  division.  The  common  method  has  been  to  commence  with  the 
Law,  as  set  forth  in  the  Decalogue,  connecting  with  it  the  being  of 
God  and  His  general  relations  to  the  world,  so  as  to  open  the  way  to 
the  knowledge  of  sin,  and  the  true  idea  of  the  Gospel  as  a  system  of 
salvation  by  grace.  Luther's  Catechism  starts  in  this  way  with  the 
Ten  Commandments,  So  the  Catechism  of  Zurich,  based  on  the 
Catechisms  of  Leo  Juda  and  Bullinger ;  which,  as  we  have  said  before, 
has  much  in  common  with  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  but  differs  from 
it  in  being  shorter,  and  also  in  the  different  arrangement  of  its  matter. 
It  consists  of  four  parts :  the  first  treating  of  God,  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  of  the  Law ;  the  second,  of  the  articles  of  the  Creed ;  the  third, 
12 


90  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

of  thankfiilness  and  the  Lord's  Prayer ;  and  tlie  fourtli,  of  tlie  Sacra- 
ments. Lasky's  Catechism  again  has  the  same  fourfold  order,  begin- 
ning with  the  knowledge  of  God  and  the  Ten  Commandments.  In 
Calvin's  Catechism  .we  have  the  order  partially  changed :  first  the 
Creed ;  next  the  Decalogue  ;  then  the  Lord's  Prayer  ;  and  finally  the 
Word  and  Sacraments ; — all  in  answer  to  the  general  question  :  In 
what  manner  is  God  to  be  rightly  honored  ?  The  difficulty  with  this 
whole  method  is,  that  it  runs  almost  necessarily  into  the  form  of  mere 
didactic  representation.  The  teaching  is  made  to  hinge  too  much  on 
some  speculative  principle,  and  assumes  a  sort  of  outward  character, 
as  a  scheme  of  knowledge  simply  for  the  understanding.  Christianity 
comes  to  appear  in  this  way  a  theory,  rather  than  a  living  fact.  It 
is  especially  worthy  of  note  now,  that  the  preliminary,  experimental 
Catechisms  of  Ursinus  (larger  and  smaller)  were  themselves  con- 
structed according  to  this  general  fashion,  following  in  particular  the 
order  of  Calvin.  But,  strange  to  say,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  came 
out  immediately  after  on  another  plan  altogether.  How  the  authors 
were  led  to  it,  we  are  not  informed.  It  would  seem  to  have  some 
connection  with  that  idea  of  the  Covenant  of  Grace  which  entered  so 
largely,  as  we  know,  into  the  thinking  of  Olevianus,  and  is  fore- 
shadowed to  some  extent  in  the  spirit  of  his  previous  Catechism  for 
children ;  but  there  is  evidence  enough  that  it  belongs  also  to  the 
independent  judgment  of  Ursinus.  Altogether  the  case  is  one  of  the 
singularities  that  so  stiikingly  characterize  the  authorship  of  the  book. 
The  method  here  followed,  as  it  has  often  been  remarked,  is  that 
of  St.  Paul  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  (with  the  omission  of  chap. 
9-11);  a  threefold  division,  namely,  in  which  we  have  the  fact  of 
Christianity  represented  in  its  own  living,  historical  order,  as  it 
appears  first  in  the  fallen  condition  of  man,  then  in  the  work  of 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  91 

redemption,  and  finally  in  tlie  fruits  of  righteousness  wMcli  spring  from 
tlie  joyful,  believing  apprehension  of  such  great  mercy.  The  concep- 
tion is  easy  and  simple,  but  at  the  same  time  profound  and  comprehen- 
sive ;  and  we  may  readily  see,  what  a  vast  improvement  it  brings  with 
it  at  once  into  the  whole  organization  of  catechetical  instruction. 

"We  have  the  old  material  still,  the  Decalogue,  the  Creed,  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  with  the  Church  and  Sacraments ;  but  it  is  no  longer  in 
the  form  of  so  many  separate  parts,  put  together  in  merely  outward 
conjunction,  or  subordinated  at  best  to  a  speculative  scheme  of 
divinity ;  they  are  worked  up  into  the  general  subject  to  which  they 
belong,  according  to  what  may  be  called  the  law  of  its  own  inward 
movement  and  progress.  Thus,  although  the  first  part  of  the  Cate- 
chism has  to  do  with  the  knowledge  of  sin,  which  comes  only  through 
the  knowledge  of  law,  we  are  not  referred  at  once  for  this  purpose,  as 
in  Luther's  Catechism,  to  a  formal  explication  of  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. "  The  Decalogue,"  says  Ursinus,  "  belongs  to  the  first  part  so 
far  as  it  is  a  mirror  of  our  sin  and  misery,  but  also  to  the  third  part  as 
being  the  rule  of  our  new  obedience  and  Christian  life."  With  good 
judgment,  accordingly,  the  consideration  of  it  in  detail  is  reserved  for 
this  ethical  sphere ;  while  simply  the  sum  of  the  law,  as  given  by  our 
Saviour  Himself,  is  employed  to  bring  its  scattered  rays  to  a  burning 
focus,  in  the  first  part,  on  the  fact  of  our  common  human  depravity, 
considered  in  its  spiritual  principle  and  root  (qu.  4).  In  the  second 
part,  then,  we  have  the  Creed  and  the  Sacraments ;  and  along  with  the 
Ten  Commandments,  in  the  third  part,  also  the  Lord's  Prayer.  There 
is  a  beautiful  order  in  this  way,  from  first  to  last,  in  which  all  these 
catechetical  elements  seem  to  find  their  appropriate  place,  and  by 
means  of  which  they  enter  naturally  and  easily  into  the  constitution 
of  the  work  as  a  whole. 


92  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Then,  as  we  have  said,  tlie  structure  of  tlie  work  is  not  theoretical, 
but  prevailingly  practical.  It  is  not  a  system  of  knowledge  merely 
for  tke  understanding,  in  which  the  truths  of  religion  are  set  forth  in 
the  character  of  abstract  thought  and  general  theological  doctrine ;  it 
is  a  representation  rather  of  the  great  facts  of  religion  in  their  own 
living  and  concrete  form,  so  ordered  as  to  address  itself  continually  to 
the  believing  contemplation  of  the  heart  and  soul. 

The  Catechism  of  Geneva  abounds  with  fine  devotional  sentiments, 
which  we  find  frequently  turned  to  account  in  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism ;  but  somehow  they  seem  to  be  farther  away  from  us,  and  more 
a  matter  of  cold  reflection,  in  the  first  case,  than  they  are  felt  to  be  in 
the  second.  Compare  the  two  formularies,  for  example,  on  the  topic 
of  Divine  Providence.  "  Why  dost  thou  call  God  Creator  only,"  it  is 
asked  with  Calvin,  "  when  to  maintain  and  preserve  creatures  in  their 
condition  is  somethins;  much  better  than  to  have  made  them  at  first  ? " 
Answer :  "  It  is  not  meant  by  tliis  word  only,  that  God  so  created  His 
works  once  as  to  have  no  care  of  them  afterward.  But  it  must  be  so 
understood  rather,  that  the  world,  as  it  was  made  by  Him  once,  is  by 
Him  now  also  preserved ;  so  that  the  earth,  and  all  other  things,  stand 
not  otherwise  than  as  they  are  upheld  through  His  power,  and  as  it 
were  by  His  hand.  Moreover,  since  He  has  all  things  under  His  hand, 
it  follows  from  thence  also  that  He  is  the  supreme  ruler  and  lord  of 
all.  Therefore  from  His  being  creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  it  is 
proper  to  understand,  that  it  is  He  alone  who  with  wisdom,  goodness, 
and  power,  governs  the  whole  course  and  order  of  nature ;  who  is  the 
author  both  of  rain  and  drought,  of  hail  and  other  tempests,  and  also 
of  fair  weather ;  who  by  His  benignity  makes  the  earth  fruitful,  and 
again  renders  it  barren  by  withdrawing  His  hand ;  from  whom  proceed 
both  health  and  sickness ;  under  whose  command  finally  are  all  things. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  93 

and  whose  will  they  obey."  Tlien  follow  two  other  questions,  on  the 
subjection  of  bad  men  and  devils  to  this  universal  government,  and 
the  advantage  of  our  knowing  that  they  are  thus  under  God's  almighty 
control.  It  is  all  beautiful  and  gi-and ;  but  who  can  help  feeling,  at 
the  same  time,  with  how  much  more  beauty  and  grandeur  the  same 
thoughts  are  represented  to  us,  in  the  inimitable,  poetical  simplicity 
and  pathos  of  the  2Tth  and  28th  questions  of  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism? We  give  them  here  in  full.  Qu.  27  :  "What  dost  thou  mean 
by  the  Providence  of  God  ? "  Answer :  "  The  almighty  and  every- 
where present  power  of  God,  whereby,  as  it  were  by  His  hand.  He 
still  upholds  heaven  and  earth,  with  all  creatures ;  and  so  governs 
them,  that  herbs  and  grass,  rain  and  drought,  fruitful  and  barren  years, 
meat  and  drink,  health  and  sickness,  riches  and  poverty,  yea  all  things, 
come  not  by  chance,  but  by  His  fatherly  hand."  Qu.  28  :  "  What  does 
it  profit  us  to  know,  that  God  has  created,  and  by  His  providence  still 
upholds  all  things  ? "  Answer :  "  That  we  may  be  patient  in  adversity ; 
thankful  in  prosperity ;  and  for  what  is  future,  have  good  confidence 
in  our  faithful  God  and  Father  that  no  creature  shall  separate  us  from 
His  love  ;  since  all  creatures  are  so  in  His  hand,  that  without  His  will 
they  cannot  so  much  as  move." 

Calvin's  Catechism  is  theological  throughout,  a  theory  of  religion 
based  on  the  doctrine  of  God  and  His  relations  generally  to  the  world. 
So  much  is  signified  in  its  very  first  question  :  "  What  is  the  chief  end 
of  human  life  ? "  This  is  made  to  be  such  a  knowledge  of  God  as 
leads  to  His  proper  glorification.  Then  it  follows  :  "  How  is  He  to  be 
rightly  glorified  or  honored  ? "  To  which  we  have  the  answer,  resolv- 
ing the  subject  theoretically  and  didactically  into  four  main  parts: 
"  By  our  reposing  in  Him  our  whole  trust ;  by  our  endeavoring  to 
devote  our  whole  life  to  Him  in  obeying  His  will ;  by  our  calling 


^i  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

upon  Him  as  often  as  we  are  in  any  need,  seeking  safety  in  Him  and 
all  desirable  good ;  and  finally,  by  acknowledging  Him,  both  with 
heart  and  mouth,  to  be  the  sole  author  of  all  good  things."  This  four- 
fold scheme  then  is  made  to  lead  and  rule  the  entire  subsequent  course 
of  instruction,  imparting  to  it  necessarily  something  of  its  own  scho- 
lastic complexion.  Even  the  Apostles'  Creed,  in  this  way,  fails  to 
exercise  its  proper  power  over  the  form  and  manner  of  religious 
thought.  It  determines  indeed  the  order  of  the  first  part ;  but  the 
sense  of  its  historical  significance  is  too  much  lost  in  its  subordination 
to  mere  theoloo-ical  reflection. 

o 

/  In  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  all  is  different.  It  offers  us  no  specu- 
lative scheme  of  theology,  but  throws  itself  at  once  into  the  bosom  of 
what  we  may  call  the  actual  work  of  redemption  in  its  historical  form. 
It  is  anthropological,  beginning  with  the  constitution  of  man,  as  it 
finds  him  in  his  present  fallen  state  ;  and  then  again  it  is  soteriological, 
following  out  the  great  facts  of  the  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus,  as 
we  have  them  exhibited  to  our  contemplation  in  the  Creed.  Its 
character  in  this  respect  is  strikingly  represented  in  its  opening 
question,  which  reveals  to  us  at  once  the  principle  and  comprehensive 
sum  of  the  entire  work.  "  What  is  thy  only  comfort  in  life  and  in  death  ? " 
Answer :  "  That  I,  with  body  and  soul,  both  in  life  and  in  death,  am 
not  my  own,  but  belong  to  my  faithful  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  with 
His  precious  blood  has  fully  satisfied  for  all  my  sins,  and  redeemed  me 
from  all  the  power  of  the  Devil ;  and  so  preserves  me  that  without  the 
vrill  of  my  Father  in  heaven,  not  a  hair  can  fall  from  my  head ;  yea, 
that  all  things  must  work  together  for  my  salvation.  Wherefore,  by 
His  Holy  Spirit  He  also  assures  me  of  eternal  life,  and  makes  me 
heartily  willing  and  ready  henceforth  to  live  unto  Him."  No  question 
in  the  whole  Catechism  has  been  more  admired  than  this,  and  none 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  95 

surely  is  more  worthy  of  admiration.  "Where  shall  we  find,  in  the 
same  compass,  a  more  beautifully  graphic,  or  a  more  impressively  full 
and  pregnant,  representation  of  all  that  is  comprehended  for  us  in  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  and  Savioui'  Jesus  Christ  ?  For  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands,  during  the  past  three  hundred  years,  it  has  been  as  a 
whole  system  of  theology  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term,  their  pole  star 
over  the  sea  of  life,  and  the  sheet  anchor  of  their  hope  amid  the  waves 
of  death.  But  what  we  quote  it  for  now,  is  simply  to  show  the  mind 
that  actuates  and  rules  the  Catechism  throughout.  We  have  here  at 
once  its  fundamental  conception,  and  the  reigning  law  of  its  construc- 
tion ;  the  key  note,  we  may  say,  which  governs  its  universal  sense,  and 
whose  grandly  solemn  tones  continue  to  make  themselves  heard 
through  all  its  utterances  from  beginning  to  end. 

EELATIOK   TO    THE   APOSTLES'    CREED. 

It  belongs  to  the  practical,  historical  character  of  the  Catechism, 
as  now  described,  that  it  falls  in  readily  with  what  may  be  called  the 
natural  movement  of  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  allows  itself  to  be  ruled 
largely  by  its  proper  confessional  spirit. 

This  primitive  symbol,  as  we  know,  is  not  a  summary  of  doctrinal 
truths  proposed  in  didactic  style  for  the  understanding,  but  an 
exhibition  rather  of  the  living  process  of  Christianity  itself  for  the 
intuitional  vision  of  faith ;  a  panoramic  representation,  we  may  say, 
of  the  grand  facts  of  redemption,  made  to  pass  before  the  eye  of  the 
spectator,  gazing  upon  them  from  within  the  sphere  of  the  new  creation 
itself  to  which  they  belong.  The  principle  of  Christianity  here,  that 
from  which  its  whole  being  in  the  world  starts  and  proceeds,  is  the 
revelation  of  God  in  Christ,  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation ;   which, 


96  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

where  it  has  come  to  be  apprehended  with  true  faith,  in  the  spirit  of 
St.  Peter's  memorable  confession,  Thou  art  the  öhrist^  the  Son  of  the 
Living  God^  is  found  to  involve,  with  inward,  necessary,  historical 
consequence,  all  the  other  articles  of  the  symbol,  out  to  the  resurrection 
of  the  body  and  the  life  everlasting.  Where  the  Creed  is  allowed  to 
exert  its  natural  and  proper  influence,  as  the  original  norm  of  all  right 
Christian  thinking,  we  shall  have  always  a  theology  and  a  church  life 
materially  different  from  what  will  be  found  to  prevail  where  this  is 
not  the  case.  By  holding  the  mind  to  the  true  Christological  and 
historical  point  of  observation,  it  serves  to  keep  it  from  the  eiTor  of  a 
merely  speculative  or  metaphysical  construction  of  Christian  doctrine. 
A  theology  which  flows  in  the  order  of  the  Creed,  and  breathes  the 
spirit  of  the  Creed,  becomes  in  this  way  concrete,  and  not  simply 
abstract;  organic,  and  not  simply  logical  and  systematic;  historical, 
and  not  simply  dogmatic ;  and  with  all  this  churchly  also  and  sacra- 
mental, and  not  simply  didactic  and  preceptive. 

It  follows  then,  that  where  the  system  of  religious  thought  has 
already  fallen  away  seriously  from  this  order,  there  will  be  no  proper 
sense  for  the  symbolical  authority  of  the  Creed,  and  no  power  to  use 
it  in  a  free  and  natural  way.  It  could  not  be  incorporated  at  all,  for 
example,  into  the  Westminster  Catechism ;  which,  with  all  its  merits, 
moves  from  first  to  last  in  a  wholly  different  order  of  thought.  It 
suffers  also  a  certain  measure  of  constraint,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the 
admu'able  Catechism  of  Geneva.  But  with  the  Heidelberg  Catechism 
the  case  is  altogether  different.  We  will  not  say,  that  even  this  is 
fully  answerable  in  all  respects  to  the  genius  of  the  Creed,  or  that  the 
Creed  finds  in  it  everywhere  its  natural  sense  and  right  exposition. 
We  can  easily  enough  see,  that  a  theological  interest  is  allowed  at 
times  to  bend  the  symbol  from  its  true  course ;  as  in  the  arbitrary 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  97 

gloss,  for  example,  on  tlie  descent  to  hades,  adopted  in  tlie  44tli 
question  from  Calvin.  But  witli  all  this,  there  is  a  real  inward  corre- 
spondence between  the  Catechism  and  the  Creed,  which  in  the  circum- 
stances is  truly  remarkable.  The  Creed  is  here  not  simply  as  an 
outward  text,  made  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  purposes  of  religious 
instruction  in  one  part  of  the  Catechism;  but  as  the  central  basis 
rather  of  the  whole  work,  in  which  all  its  parts  come  together  and 
find  their  true  construction  and  sense.  However  it  may  have  come  to 
pass,  the  fundamental  idea  of  the  Catechism,  the  scheme  on  which  it 
is  projected,  leads  over  of  itself  to  the  "  articles  of  our  catholic,  un- 
doubted Christian  faith,"  as  they  are  presented  to  us  in  the  Creed ; 
the  exposition  of  which  then  follows,  in  the  second  part,  as  a  simple 
history  of  the  great  work  of  redemption,  carrying  forward  with  natural 
ease  the  general  theme  proposed  in  the  first  question.  The  spirit  of 
the  Creed,  in  this  way,  seems  to  enter  into  the  whole  constitution  of 
the  work,  influencing  its  course  of  thought,  and  giving  form  and 
complexion  to  its  conceptions,  even  beyond  what  was  designed  always 
or  distinctly  premeditated  in  the  mind  of  its  authors.  For  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say,  that  in  the  composition  of  the  Catechism  we  have 
something  more  than  mere  outward  thought  and  reflection.  It  carries 
in  it,  unquestionably,  to  some  extent,  the  genial  inspiration  of  a  true 
work  of  art ;  in  which  the  mind  of  the  artist  is  seized  and  borne  away 
by  what  we  may  call  the  mind  of  his  subject,  so  as  to  become  for  it 
the  more  or  less  passive  organ  simply  of  its  own  self-production. 
Only  in  such  view  can  we  account  for  much,  that  must  otherwise  ever 
appear  strange  and  perplexing  in  the  authorship  of  the  book. 


13 


98  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 


ONLY    FOE   THE   SPHERE   OF   GRACE. 

It  is  a  distinguisliing  feature  of  tlie  Heidelberg  CatecMsm,  showing 
its  general  affinity  with  the  spirit  of  the  Creed,  that  its  teachings 
throughout  are  more  confessional  than  didactic,  uttered  everywhere 
from  the  stand-point  of  faith  and  personal  experience,  rather  than  from 
that  of  mere  knowledge  and  outward  consideration. 

How  different  in  this  respect  is  the  style  of  instruction  that  meets 
us  in  the  Catechism  of  Geneva.  "What  is  the  chief  end  of  life?" 
Answer :  "  That  men  may  know  God,  by  whom  they  have  been 
created."  "  What  reason  have  you  for  saying  this  ? "  Answer :  "  Be- 
cause He  has  created  us,  and  placed  us  in  this  world,  that  He  might 
be  glorified  in  us ;  and  it  is  just  certainly,  that  our  life,  which  has  its 
beginning  from  Him,  should  be  referred  to  His  glory."  "  But  what  is 
the  highest  good  of  man  ? "  Answer :  "  This  same  thing."  "  Why  do 
you  hold  this  to  be  the  highest  good  ? "  Answer  :  "  Because  without 
it  our  condition  is  more  unhappy  than  that  of  any  sort  of  brutes." 
And  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  All  is  general  and  theoretic ; 
question  and  answer  are  alike  external  to  their  object,  stand  as  it  were 
on  the  outside  of  it  altogether,  and  look  toward  it  only  through  the 
medium  of  dry,  frigid  reflection. 

So  with  the  more  modern  Westminster  Catechism.  "  What  is  the 
chief  end  of  man  ? " — ^general  again,  and  philosophically  theological,  as 
before.  Answer :  "  Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God,  and  to  enjoy  Him 
for  ever."  "  What  rule  hath  God  given,  to  direct  us  how  we  may  glorify 
and  enjoy  Him  ? "  Answer :  "  The  word  of  God,  which  is  contained  in 
the  Scriptui'es  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  is  the  only  rule  to  direct 
us  how  we  may  glorify  and  enjoy  Him."     *'  What  do  the  Scriptures 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  99 

principally  teach  ? "  Answer :  "  The  Scriptures  principally  teach,  what 
man  is  to  believe  concerning  God,  and  what  duty  God  requires  of 
man."  Doctrine  for  the  understanding  simply,  matter  of  theoretic 
contemplation  at  best,  from  first  to  last.  An  admirable  compend  of 
metaphysical  divinity,  after  its  own  order  and  in  its  own  kind ;  but 
all  impersonal  and  ideal,  a  description  of  Christianity  in  the  abstract, 
more  than  the  felt  appropriation  of  it  in  any  way  as  a  living  and 
present  fact. 

Contrast  with  this  now,  the  tone  and  manner,  in  which  the  voice 
of  religion  is  made  to  address  us  fi'om  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  ;  and 
who  can  help  feeling,  that  we  are  introduced  by  it  into  another 
spiritual  element  altogether.  Question  and  answer  move  here  from 
the  very  start,  in  the  actual  bosom  of  the  new  life  of  grace  itself,  and 
involve  all  along  the  practical  acknowledgment  of  the  great  facts  of 
the  Christian  salvation,  in  the  form  of  experimental,  personal  faith. 
The  stand-point  of  the  whole  Catechism,  in  this  respect,  is  significantly 
proclaimed  in  its  first  question,  the  echo  of  whose  silvery  music  we 
seem  to  hear  in  all  that  follows.  "  What  is  thy  only  comfort  in  life 
and  in  death  ? "  Not :  What  is  God  ?  Nor  yet :  What  is  the  chief 
end  of  man  ?  Nor  even  :  What  is  the  comfort  of  a  true  Christian  in 
this  world  ?  But  with  an  application  brought  home  at  once  to  the 
learner's  own  case  :  What  is  Christianity  in  thee  and  for  thee,  O  child 
of  Adam,  planted  in  Christ  ?  In  full  keeping  with  which  then,  we 
have  the  magnificent  answer  before  quoted,  all  couched  in  the  same 
intensely  personal  terms,  and  breathing  the  same  spirit  of  faith.  It  is 
nothing  less  than  a  full  appropriation  of  the  grace  of  the  Gospel, 
answerable  for  example  to  the  import  of  those  great  words  of  St.  Paul : 
"Who  hath  delivered  us  from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  hath 
translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  His  dear  Son ;  in  whom  we  have 


100  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

redemption  througli  His  blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins."  I  am  not 
my  own,  tlie  catechumen  is  made  to  say,  I  belong  to  my  faithful  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ ;  He  has  died  for  me ;  has  fully  satisfied  for  all  my  sins, 
and  delivered  me  from  all  the  power  of  the  Devil ;  He  preserves  me 
with  His  almighty  power,  and  by  His  Holy  Spirit  assures  me  of 
eternal  life.  So  throughout  the  Catechism.  All  is  so  constructed  as 
to  hold  continually,  not  only  in  the  element  of  personal  experience,  but 
in  the  element  of  such  experience  advanced  to  the  consciousness  and 
sense  of  a  true  personal  interest  in  the  salvation  of  Jesus  Chiist. 

Thus  true  faith  is  described  to  be  (qu.  21),  "not  only  a  certain 
knowledge  whereby  I  hold  for  truth  all  that  God  has  revealed  to  us 
in  His  word;  but  also  a  hearty  trust,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  works  in 
me  by  the  Gospel,  that  not  only  to  others,  but  to  me  also,  forgiveness 
of  sins,  everlasting  righteousness,  and  salvation  are  freely  given  by 
God,  merely  of  grace,  only  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  merits."     So  on  the 
topic  of  God's  work  of  creation  under  the  first  article  of  the  Creed 
(qu.  26),  the  question  is  not  just  what  we  are  to  understand  by  it ;  to 
which  the  answer  might  be :    "  His    making   all   things   of    nothing, 
by  the  word  of  His  power,  in  the  space  of  six  days,  and  all  very  good." 
It  looks  rather  to  what  is  involved  in  the  apprehension  of  the  fact  as 
an  exercise  of  faith — that  faith  by  which  "we  xmderstand  (Heb.  11 :  3) 
that  the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  God."     It  is  an  inquiry 
into  the  relation  of  a  believing  Christian  to  this  foundation  truth  of 
religion.      "What  dost  thou  believe  when  thou  sayest,  I  believe  in 
God  the  Father,  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth  ? "     Answer : 
"  That  the  eternal  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  of  nothing 
made  heaven  and  earth,  with  all  that  in  them  is,  who  likewise  upholds 
and  governs  the  same  by  His  eternal  counsel  and  providence,  is  for  the 
sake  of  Christ  His  Son,  my  God  and  my  Father ;  in  whom  I  so  trust, 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  101 

as  to  have  no  doubt  that  He  will  provide  me  witli  all  things  necessary 
for  body  and  soul ;  and  further,  that  whatever  evils  He  sends  upon 
me  in  this  vale  of  tears,  He  will  turn  to  my  good ;  for  He  is  able  to 
do  it,  being  Almighty  God,  and  willing  also,  being  a  faithful  Father." 
Another  classical  example  truly  of  the  reigning  mind,  as  well  as  of  the 
peculiar  force  and  beauty,  of  the  Catechism. 

Take  again  the  32d  question,  where,  after  the  explanation  of  the 
name  Christ,  or  Anointed,  in  its  reference  to  our  Saviour's  threefold 
office  of  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King,  it  is  suggestively  asked:  "But 
why  art  thou  called  a  Christian  ? "  No  merely  general  and  impersonal 
view  of  the  case  will  suffice ;  the  interrogation  goes  at  onoe  to  the 
interior  life  of  the  subject,  and  the  answer  must  come  again  from  the 
respondent's  o^vn  soul :  "  Because  by  faith  I  am  a  member  of  Christ, 
and  thus  a  partaker  of  His  anointing ;  in  order  that  I  also  may  confess 
His  name ;  may  present  myself  a  living  sacrifice  of  thankfulness  to 
Him ;  and  may  with  free  conscience  fight  against  sin  and  the  Devil  in 
this  life,  and  hereafter,  in  eternity,  reign  with  Him  over  all  creatures." 
The  prophetical,  priestly,  and  kingly  functions,  all  in  this  way  not 
simply  copied  but,  as  it  were,  actually  transfused  into  the  believer, 
through  his  living  union  as  a  Christian  with  the  living  Christ. 

The  52d  question,  on  the  second  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  56th,  on  the  "forgiveness  of  sins,"  the  57th,  on  the  "resurrection 
of  the  body,"  the  58th,  on  the  "life  everlasting,"  the  60th,  on  justifica- 
tion, might  all  be  quoted  here,  as  so  many  rich  examples,  in  the  same 
inimitable  strain,  of  the  peculiarity  now  under  consideration — ^the  way, 
namely,  in  which  the  Catechism  refers  all  Christian  truths  to  the 
stand-point  of  actual  personal  faith  and  experience ;  and  there  is 
a  strong  temptation  to  quote  them,  certainly,  in  the  intrinsic  beauty 
of  the  questions  themselves.     But  we  find  it  necessary  to  forbear,  and 


102  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

content  ourselves  at  present  witli  simply  making  mention  of  them  in 
this  general  way. 

This  very  peculiarity  of  the  Catechism,  however,  on  which  the 
beauty  and  power  of  it  so  largely  depend,  has  been  made  at  times  a 
matter  of  objection  to  it ;  as  being  supposed  to  encourage  in  all  who 
use  it  the  thought  that  they  are  true  Christians,  when  many  of  them 
may  not  be  so  in  fact.  It  is  not  safe,  especially,  we  are  told,  to  put 
the  language  of  personal  piety,  in  such  strong  terms,  into  the  mouths 
of  children  and  young  people  generally ;  they  are  in  danger  of  being 
deluded  by  it  into  the  notion,  that  they  have  in  their  mere  outward  con- 
nection ^ith  the  Church  all  that  is  required  for  their  salvation,  so  as  to 
take  no  interest  in  the  subject  of  religion  under  any  more  inward  view. 
The  Catechism,  in  other  words,  is  so  constructed,  it  has  been  imag- 
ined, as  to  foster  spiritual  ignorance,  presumption,  and  carnal  security, 
in  the  minds  of  those  for  whom  it  should  be  a  discipline  rather  of 
conviction  and  conversion  ;  a  purpose  which  it  might  serve  much  more 
effectually,  according  to  this  view,  if  it  were  so  framed  as  to  represent 
the  idea  of  religion  in  a  general  theoretic  way,  holding  the  mind  of  the 
catechumen  steadily  on  the  outside  of  it,  and  leaving  the  question  of 
his  personal  relations  to  it  open  always  for  separate  adjudication  at  the 
bar  of  his  own  conscience. 

The  objection  is  plausible,  and  falls  in  well  especially  with  what 
may  be  considered  perhaps  the  reigning  tone  of  religious  thought  at 
the  present  time  ;  but  it  becomes  of  no  force,  as  soon  as  we  reflect  that 
it  holds  against  the  general  faith  and  practice  of  the  Church  in  past 
ages,  and  against  the  whole  teaching  of  the  New  Testament,  just  as 
strongly  as  it  holds  against  the  Heidelberg  Catechism.  The  Church, 
from  the  beginning,  has  always  considered  her  children  sacred  to  God, 
and  in  covenant  with  Him,  by  Holy  Baptism ;  and  on  the  ground  of 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  103 

this  relation,  lias  sought  to  instil  into  them,  from  the  first,  the  con- 
sciousness and  sense  of  their  being  Christians,  as  the  necessary  condi- 
tion of  their  growing  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 
In  this  way  also  Christianity  is  made  to  be  a  matter  of  personal 
appropriation  throughout,  in  all  the  early  Creeds ;  they  move  in  the 
orbit  of  the  Christian  life  itself,  and  not  on  the  outside  of  it ;  they  are 
the  language  of  faith  for  the  faithful  only.  The  spirit  of  the  Catechism 
in  this  respect,  then,  is  in  full  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed,  from  which  indeed  it  seems  to  be  in  large  measure  derived. 
What  is  of  still  more  account,  however,  it  is  in  full  harmony  also  with 
all  Apostolic  teaching,  as  we  have  it  especially  in  the  New  Testament 
Epistles.  This  too  proceeds  everywhere  on  the  assumption,  that  those 
to  whom  it  is  addressed  belong  already  to  Christ  and  not  to  the  world. 
It  is  Christian  instruction  for  such  as  are  considered  to  be  within  the 
bosom  of  Christianity ;  not  a  scheme  of  doctrines  and  duties  offered 
for  the  consideration  of  those  who  are  still  on  the  outside  of  it,  and 
personally  strangers  to  its  grace.  This  is  so  palpable,  that  it  is  only 
wonderful  how  it  should  be  so  frequently  forgotten  or  overlooked. 
These  Epistles,  as  we  all  know,  address  themselves  to  the  "  elect,"  to 
those  who  were  "  called  to  be  saints,"  to  the  "  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus," 
and  go  on  the  hypothesis  throughout  that  these  titles  were  not  idle, 
nominal  distinctions  only,  but  designations  rather  of  a  real  state  of 
grace,  which  laid  the  foundation  for  all  that  they  were  expected  to  be 
or  to  do  as  followers  of  Christ.  No  fear  was  felt,  it  seems,  that  the 
acknowledgment  of  such  a  general  state  of  grace,  in  the  case  of  those 
who  belonged  to  the  Church,  might  lead  to  indifference  or  presump- 
tion ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  made  the  main  argument  and  motive 
always  for  a  holy  life.  "  Ye  are  bought  with  a  price  "  (1  Cor.  6  :  20, 
in  the  very  spirit  of  the  1st  question  of  the  Catechism),  "  therefore 


104  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

glorify  God  in  your  body  and  in  your  spirit,  whicli  are  God's."     Let 
tlie  fact  of  your  election,  witli  its  glorious  opportunities,  privileges, 
and  powers,  engage  you  to  all  diligence  (2  Pet.  1 :  10)  in  making  "  your 
calling  and  election  sure."     Having  sucli  promises  (2  Cor.  Y  :  1),  "  let 
us  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of  tlie  flesli  and  spirit,  perfecting 
lioliness  in  the  fear  of  God."     Such  is  the  tenor  everywhere  of  these 
New  Testament  instructions  and  exhortations.     All  relations,  for  those 
addressed,  are  held  to  be  Christian  relations ;  all  duties,  growing  out 
of  them,  find  their  ultimate  sense  and  force  only  in  Christ.     He  is  the 
principle  of  the  new  ethical  creation,  into  which  husbands  and  vdves, 
parents  and  children,  masters  and  servants,  have  here  come  by  their 
common  Christian  character  and  profession.      All  depends  on  their 
having  power  to  know  and  honor  the  fact  of  their  own  heavenly 
distinction  in  this  view,  so  as  to  "  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  where- 
with they  are  called."     Children,  we  see,  as  well  as  others,  have  place 
in  this  glorious  citizenship  of  the  saints,  however  we  may  suppose 
them  to  have  come  into  it ;   and  being  there,  they  are  to  be  known, 
and  also  to  know  themselves,  as  being  "  in  Christ "  no  less  than  their 
believing  parents,  and  not  simply  as  being  candidates  for  the  Christian 
profession  at  some  future  time.     They  come  in,  with  other  classes,  for 
their  full  proportion  of  Apostolic  counsel  and  care,  subject  to  no  dismal 
exclusion  whatever  from  the  membership  of  Christ's  Church.    They  are 
exhorted  to  obey  their  parents  "  in  the  Lord "  (Eph.  6:1;  Col.  3 : 
20)  ;    which   implies,  of  course,  that   they   are   "  not   strangers   and 
foreigners,  but  fellow  citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of 
faith;"    and  it  is  charged  upon  fathers  (Eph.  6:4;    Col.  3 :  21)  to 
treat  them — not  as  children  of  the  Devil — but  as  children  of  God,  by 
reverencing  their  tender  personality,  and  bringing  them  up  "in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord." 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  105 

What  we  mean  now  by  all  this,  is  simply  to  show,  that  the  New 
Testament  Epistles  have  the  same  religious  bearing  toward  those 
whom  they  address,  which  we  have  seen  to  be  held  by  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  toward  its  probationers  and  pupils.  In  both  cases  alike, 
the  teaching  is  "  from  faith  to  faith,"  the  utterance  of  Christianity  for 
the  use  of  such  as  are  supposed  to  stand  within  its  own  sphere.  This 
would  seem  to  be  a  sufficient  vindication,  then,  of  the  peculiar  con- 
struction of  the  Catechism  in  this  respect.  It  is  not  a  system  of 
instruction  for  unbelievers,  and  such  as  are  outside  of  God's  covenant. 
Like  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Creed,  it  is  for  those  only  who  have 
been  initiated  into  the  life  of  the  Church ;  and  in  putting  the  full 
confession  of  Christianity  into  their  lips,  it  cannot  be  said  certainly  to 
venture  more  than  St.  Paul  does,  when  he  says  (1  Cor.  6: 11)  to  the  Corin- 
thian Christians  collectively  :  "  Ye  are  washed,  ye  are  sanctified,  ye  are 
justified,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our 
God ; "  or  to  go  beyond  his  strong  language  to  the  sorely  erring 
Galatians  (Gal.  3  :  26,  21)  :  "Ye  are  all  the  children  of  God,  by  faith 
in  Christ  Jesus ;  for  as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ, 
have  put  on  Christ." 

It  will  not  do  to  say,  of  course,  that  St.  Paul's  assumption  in  this 
whole  case  was  both  for  his  own  mind,  and  in  actual  fact,  a  mere 
complimentary  or  benevolent  fiction — as  when  a  physician,  for  example, 
tries  to  inspire  his  patient  with  the  confidence  of  returning  health, 
though  knowing  him  to  be  under  the  power  of  a  deadly  disease.  No 
one  knew  better  than  the  Apostle  himself,  that  many  of  those  whom 
he  addressed  as  Christians  were  in  a  condition  of  great  spiritual 
unsoundness  and  defect ;  and  no  one  could  be  more  ready  to  charge 
home  upon  them  this  mournful  fact,  in  the  most  sweeping  and  unre- 
served terms.  But  with  all  this,  he  never  allows  himself  to  question 
14 


106  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

for  a  moment  tlie  value  of  tlieii'  Christian  estate  in  itself  considered ; 
and  what  seems  strange,  he  is  never  willing  to  have  it  questioned 
either,  or  doubted,  in  their  own  minds.  Where  the  tact  of  a  modern 
revivalist  would  be  ready  at  once  to  discourage  every  such  ulterior 
ground  of  trust,  as  a  refuge  of  lies,  the  different  wisdom  of  St.  Paul 
forces  it  into  view,  and  lays  all  stress  upon  it,  for  the  highest  purposes 
of  religion  itself.  It  is  with  him,  we  repeat,  no  fiction,  but  a  glorious 
reality,  lying  at  the  foundation  of  the  whole  grace  of  the  Gospel.  It 
is  nothing  less  in  truth  than  that  doctrine  of  the  Church,  that  great 
idea  of  organic,  sacramental  Christianity,  which  runs  through  his 
universal  teaching,  and  forms  with  him  the  basis  of  all  faith  and  piety 
in  every  less  general  view. 

In  making  its  catechumens  to  be  Christians,  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism proceeds  undoubtedly  on  the  same  general  theory  of  religion ; 
it  is  not  an  ecclesiastical  fiction  merely  that  is  put  forward  in  the  case ; 
they  are  taken  to  be,  not  hypothetically  only,  but  really  and  truly,  in 
the  state  of  grace  and  salvation  which  they  are  instructed  to  lay  claim 
to  as  their  own.  This  does  not  mean,  of  course,  that  they  are  held  to 
have  come  in  all  cases  to  such  a  clear,  firm  sense  and  assurance  of  their 
good  estate  as  the  Catechism  puts  into  their  lips ;  but  it  does  mean, 
that  this  good  estate  is  theirs  by  heavenly  right,  and  that  it  is  their 
privilege  and  duty  to  be  assured  of  it,  and  to  lay  claim  to  it,  in  this 
way.  The  theory  is,  that  they  are  Christians  by  being  in  the  Church, 
and  thus  in  actual  covenant  with  God  through  His  Son  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  that  all  they  need  to  make  them  personally  righteous  and  holy, 
is  that  they  should  believe  this  great  fact,  and  accord  to  it  its  proper 
influence  over  their  hearts  and  lives. 

Substantially  the  same  view,  indeed,  was  held  by  the  entire  Protes- 
tant Church  in  the  beginning ;    as  it  had  been  held  by  the  Catholic 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  107 

Churcli  also,  tlirougli  all  previous  ages  ;  and  it  was  considered  one  of  the 
monstrous  innovations  of  the  fanatical  Anabaptists,  (as  well  as  of  the 
rationalistic  Socinians,)  that  they  would  hear  of  no  such  objective 
sanctification  and  grace.  Both  the  Lutheran  and  the  Kefornied  commu- 
nions, it  deserves  to  be  well  considered,  stood  here  on  the  same  ground. 
So  far  as  the  matter  of  covenant  relation  to  God  through  union  with 
the  Church  is  concerned,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  at  least  goes  quite 
as  far  as  the  Catechism  of  Luther.  They  differ,  it  is  true,  in  the  force 
they  assign  to  Baptism,  the  sacrament  of  introduction  into  this  state 
of  grace.  With  Luther,  it  is  itself  the  thing  it  represents,  God's  act  of 
mercy,  setting  the  subject  over  at  the  time  from  the  power  of  darkness 
into  the  kingdom  of  His  dear  Son.  To  the  question,  "What  doth 
Baptism  profit  ? "  he  answers  without  any  sort  of  hesitation  :  "  It 
works  remission  of  sins,  delivers  from  death  and  the  Devil,  and  gives 
eternal  salvation  to  all  who  believe  in  it,  according  to  the  word  and 
promise  of  God."  In  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  the  sign  and  the 
thing  signified  are  held  as  it  were  more  apart ;  but  still  the  sacrament 
is  taken  to  be  a  seal  and  certification  of  the  grace  it  represents,  an 
authenticating  act  on  the  part  of  God,  which  makes  it  to  be  objectively 
present  and  sure  for  the  baptized  person,  as  much  as  if  it  were  in  the 
outward  sign  itself,  requiring  only  faith  on  his  part  to  give  it  full 
efficacy  for  the  purposes  of  his  salvation.  The  force  of  it  in  this  view 
is  strikingly  represented,  in  what  is  said  of  Infant  Baptism  in  the  74th 
question ;  where  it  is  asked  :  "  Are  infants  also  to  be  baptized  ? "  To 
which  the  answer  follows  :  "  Yes  ;  for  since  they  as  well  as  their 
parents  belong  to  the  covenant  and  people  of  God,  and  both  redemp- 
tion from  sin  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  works  faith,  are  through  the 
blood  of  Christ  promised  to  them  no  less  than  to  their  parents ;  they 
are  also  by  Baptism,  as  a  sign  of  the  covenant,  to  be  ingrafted  into  the 


108  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Christian  Churcli,  and  distinguished  from  the  children  of  unbelievers, 
as  was  done  in  the  Old  Testament  by  Circumcision,  in  place  of  which 
in  the  ISFew  Testament  Baptism  is  appointed."  The  amount  of  all 
plainly  is,  that  Baptism,  if  it  be  not  itself  the  origin  and  ground  of 
that  gracious  relation  to  God  which  is  denominated  the  covenant,  is 
nevertheless  such  a  ratification  of  it  under  the  immediate  hand  of  God 
Himself,  that  all  who  are  baptized  must  be  held  to  be  within  the  range 
of  the  covenant,  and  to  have  its  benefits  assured  to  them,  if  only  they 
can  be  brought  to  believe  and  improve  the  fact,  in  the  most  actual  and 
real  way.  But  this  is  at  once  nothing  less  than  that  idea  of  baptismal 
grace,  potential  Christianity,  sanctification  to  the  service  of  God  by 
being  in  the  Church,  of  which  we  are  now  speaking ;  and  which,  as 
we  say,  underlies  and  conditions  the  teaching  of  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  from  beginning  to  end.  It  addresses  itself  everywhere  to 
those  who  are  considered  to  be  really  within  the  covenant  of  grace ; 
and  it  addresses  them  therefore  as  Christians,  whose  duty  as  well  as 
right  it  is  to  respond  to  the  claims  of  this  gracious  condition,  and  to 
make  its  benefits  their  own  through  the  joyful  appropriation  of  faith. 

EDUCATIONAL    EELIGIOIS'. 

In  all  this  we  have  the  proper  conception  of  educational  religion, 
which  entered  so  largely  into  the  whole  catechetical  system  of  the 
sixteenth  centuiy,  but  for  which,  unfortunately,  with  much  of  our 
modern  Christianity,  the  power  of  appreciation  seems  to  have  passed 
away  altogether.  Education,  of  course,  supposes  always  the  existence 
and  presence  potentially  of  that  which  it  is  expected  to  bring  out  in 
the  way  of  actual  development  and  growth.  As  a  stone  cannot  be 
cultivated  into  a  plant ;  and  as  no  training  again  can  cause  a  plant  to 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  109 

become  an  animal ;  so  in  the  spiritual  world  also  it  is  not  possible,  by- 
mere  nurture  of  any  sort,  to  carry  tbe  evolution  of  life  beyond  tlie 
principles  and  germs  wliicL.  are  already  imbedded  in  its  own  constitu- 
tion. This  applies  emphatically  to  the  new  creation  in  Christ.  It  can 
never  be  brought  to  pass,  in  the  way  of  simple  derivation  from  the 
powers  and  possibilities  of  our  common  human  natui*e,  in  its  fallen 
Adamic  state.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh — we  are  solemnly 
assured — is  flesh ;  it  remains  as  such  hopelessly  bound  to  its  own 
sphere,  and  can  in  no  way  be  brought  to  transcend  it.  If  it  were 
pretended  then  to  take  such  as  by  their  natural  bu'th  are  in  this  state 
only,  and  to  train  them  into  Christianity  by  mere  teaching  and  disci- 
pline, as  they  might  be  trained  for  example  into  the  knowledge  of 
some  worldly  art  or  science,  the  pretension  would  well  deserve  to  be 
rejected  as  both  false  and  vain.  The  idea  of  educational  religion  in 
such  form,  would  be  neither  more  nor  less  than  Pelagianism  without 
disguise ;  and  if  there  were  no  room  to  conceive  of  any  other  founda- 
tion on  which  to  build,  in  the  case  of  children,  than  such  as  is  exhibited 
to  us  in  their  original  condition,  we  can  easily  enough  see  that  it  must 
involve  a  contradiction  to  think  or  to  speak  of  building  them  up  as 
Christians  in  any  such  way.  Then  the  modern  Puritanic  or  Baptistic 
sentiment  after  aU  would  be  right,  and  the  old  Catholic  sentiment 
wi'ong ;  we  must  look  upon  our  childi^en,  and  teach  them  to  look  upon 
themselves,  as  without  lot  or  portion  in  God's  family — "  the  children 
of  wrath  even  as  others  " — until  such  time  as  they  might  come,  in  their 
isolated,  separate  capacity,  to  a  true  awakening  and  conversion  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  on  the  outside  of  the  Church  altogether.  For  such 
thinking,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  old  catechetical  system,  the  old 
sacramental  system,  the  old  chm'ch  system  in  general,  can  never  appear 
reliable  and  satisfactory ;   for  the  simple  reason  that  it  has  no  faith 


110  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

whatever  in  tliat  wliicli  lay  at  tlie  foundation  of  all  this  old  Chris- 
tianity, a  gracious  condition,  namely,  supposed  to  be  already  at  hand 
in  the  case  of  all  who  belonged  rightfully  to  the  Church,  in  virtue  of 
which  they  were  considered  to  be  no  longer  nature  or  flesh  only,  but 
to  have  part  also  in  the  supernatural  economy  of  the  Spirit.  The 
capacity  for  Christianity  which  Pelagius  heretically  pretended  to  find 
in  the  birth  of  nature,  St,  Augustine  referred  to  a  higher  birth  of 
grace,  which  was  effected,  as  he  believed,  by  the  sacrament  of  Baptism ; 
and  in  one  form  or  another,  the  same  view  substantially  has  always 
been  held,  wherever  the  idea  of  educational  religion  has  been  found  to 
carry  with  it  any  sort  of  practical  force. 

Only  in  such  view,  indeed,  can  we  understand  what  educational 
religion  means,  or  have  any  right  sense  of  what  it  is  to  bring  up  our 
children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  In  some  way  we 
must  be  assured  that  they  belong  to  Christ,  and  not  to  Satan,  if  we 
are  to  encourage  in  them  at  all  the  Christian  consciousness,  which  the 
conception  of  such  culture  implies  from  the  very  start.  There  must 
be  a  basis  here  on  which  to  build — not  in  nature  merely,  or  our  own 
wilful  imagination,  but  in  grace  ;  of  whose  presence,  then,  we  need  to 
have  some  outwardly  objective  evidence  and  pledge.  In  that  case,  it 
will  be  possible  for  us  to  look  upon  our  children  as  Christians  from 
the  beginning,  and  so  to  make  them  the  subjects  of  a  positively 
Christian  culture  throughout,  according  to  the  injunction  of  St.  Paul, 
for  which  otherwise  there  would  be  no  room  whatever.  Then  reli- 
gious education  for  the  young  will  not  be  negative  merely,  an  outward 
discipline  intended  to  prepare  the  way  for  Christ  at  some  future  time, 
or  a  moral  training  for  the  purposes  only  of  the  present  life  ;  nor  will 
it  stand  simply  in  lessons  and  rules  presented  to  the  understanding ; 
but  it  will  aim  rather,  as  all  true  education  does,  to  reach  its  subjects 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  HI 

througli  tlie  power  of  tlie  life  wliicli  is  supposed  to  belong  to  tliem  in 
common  with  their  teachers.  In  other  words,  it  will  be  organic, 
reproductive,  the  continuous  ongoing,  we  may  say,  of  the  "  law  of  the 
spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus."  For  any  such  process  the  idea  of  the 
Church  is  indispensable  ;  for  with  this  only  can  we  have  the  superna- 
tural element — in  distinction  from  the  element  of  mere  nature — in 
which  it  may  be  felt  possible  at  all  for  the  work  of  the  Spirit  to 
proceed  in  such  manner.  To  be  brought  up  and  educated  in  the  Lord 
is  to  be  first  planted  in  the  life  of  the  Church ;  and  then  to  be  so 
comprehended  in  this,  and  so  nurtured  by  it  from  the  beginning,  in 
the  trustful  use  of  all  its  means  of  grace  and  salvation,  that  the  soul 
shall  have  the  sense  of  it  formed  into  itself  as  part  of  its  own  con- 
sciousness, and  grow  up  in  it  always  as  the  natural  home  and  habit 
of  its  thoughts ;  just  as  in  the  order  of  nature,  the  life  of  a  family,  or 
the  constitutional  spirit  of  a  whole  people,  is  found  to  pass  onward 
from  one  generation  to  another  in  the  same  organic  way. 

This  does  not  imply,  by  any  means,  that  such  covenant  relation- 
ship to  God  involves  of  itself  a  natui-al,  spontaneous  growing  up  into 
the  matui-ity  of  the  Christian  life,  without  obstacle  or  let,  and  with  no 
farther  care,  from  the  beginning.  There  must  be,  of  course,  the  proper 
conditions  of  outward  Christian  training — the  vivifying  action  of 
spiritual  light,  and  air,  and  heat,  in  the  family  and  in  the  Church — 
and  the  proper  inward  disposition  of  obedience  and  faith  also  on  the 
part  of  the  subject,  (come  whence  or  how  it  may),  to  secure  any  such 
result  as  that ;  and  as  these  terms  of  success  are  in  general  only  most 
imperfectly  at  hand  in  the  actual  state  and  character  of  the  Christian 
world,  it  need  be  no  matter  of  surprise  that  the  grace  of  God,  in  the 
form  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  should  seem  to  be  bestowed  upon 
very  many  altogether  in  vain  ;  or  that  where  this  may  not  be  the  case, 


112  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

it  should  be  found  reacHng  its  object  at  last  only  in  the  way  of  more 
or  less  violent  reaction  and  conversion  from  a  life  of  sin.  But  with  all 
this,  the  reality  of  the  grace  itself,  in  its  own-  positive,  objective 
character,  must  not  be  questioned  or  undervalued.  "  For  what  if 
some  did  not  believe  ? "  St.  Paul  exclaims  (Rom.  3 :  3,  4),  referring 
to  this  very  subject  in  its  relation  to  the  Jews ;  "  shall  their  unbelief 
make  the  faith  (or  fidelity)  of  God  without  effect  ?  God  forbid  :  yea, 
let  God  be  true,  and  every  man  a  liar."  That  is,  in  the  Christian 
economy :  If  ten  thousand  baptized  members  of  the  Church  despise 
their  birthright  in  God's  family,  like  Esau,  shall  their  unbelief  nullify 
the  reality  of  God's  grace  made  sure  to  them  in  the  holy  sacrament  of 
Baptism?  Nay  rather;  though  all  prove  false  to  the  covenant  of 
salvation  thus  signed  and  sealed  in  their  favor  by  the  hand  of  the 
Almighty,  let  us  not  dare  to  turn  into  fiction  the  sign  manual  of  the 
Almighty  Himself.  Baptismal  grace  is  no  fiction ;  it  is  the  real 
possibility  of  salvation,  conferred,  by  divine  gift,  upon  all  whom 
Christ  thus  blesses  and  brings  into  full  union  with  His  Church ;  and 
for  all  the  purposes  of  educational  religion,  nothing  is  more  neces- 
sary than  that  both  Christian  parents  themselves,  and  their  baptized 
children,  should  be  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  believing  sense  of 
this  truth. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism  now,  we  say,  is  constructed  on  this 
theory  or  scheme  of  Christianity  altogether.  It  assumes  that  the 
baptized  children  of  the  Church  are  sealed  and  set  over  to  the  service 
of  God  by  the  sanctifying  or  separating  act  of  their  Baptism  itself,  that 
they  belong  to  the  congregation  and  people  of  Christ,  that  they  have 
part  in  the  covenant  of  grace,  that  they  are  of  the  household  of  faith ; 
and  it  aims  accordingly  everywhere,  to  stir  up  their  jninds  to  a 
knowing  and  believing  apprehension  of  this  great  grace,  that  they 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  113 

may  be  engaged  by  it  to  die  unto  sin  and  live  unto  holiness.  In  this  * 
respect,  however,  it  was  only  in  keeping,  as  we  have  abeady  said, 
with  the  general  thinking  and  practice  of  the  Church  in  the  age  of 
the  Reformation ;  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  see,  that  the  entire  cate- 
chetical system,  in  particular  of  the  sixteenth  century,  owed  its  whole 
interest,  and  vigor,  and  success,  to  the  same  theory  of  Christianity  and 
no  other.  It  is  not  intelligible  on  any  other  ground ;  and  with  the 
giving  way,  accordingly,  of  the  old  belief  in  baptismal  grace,  and 
educational  religion,  we  find  that  it  has  in  fact  lost  its  hold  upon  the 
practice  of  our  modern  Churches  in  large  measure  altogether, 

MODERN    BAPTISTIO    THEOEY    AND    PEACTICE. 

For  that  such  a  general  falling  away  from  the  old  church  belief 
on  this  subject  has  actually  taken  place  with  a  large  part  of  our 
modern  Protestant  Christianity,  is  a  fact  too  plain,  we  think,  to  be 
disputed  by  any  intelligent  student  of  history.  In  this  country 
especially,  we  meet  with  the  painful  evidences  of  it  in  every 
direction. 

We  have  whole  denominations  among  us,  large  and  powerful, 
which  may  be  said  to  have  started  into  existence  on  the  very  principle 
of  undervaluing  all  organic  and  educational  piety,  and  which  glory  in 
being  a  sort  of  practical  protest,  in  this  way,  against  the  sacramental 
and  churchly  views  of  other  times.  A  sacramental  religion  is  for 
them  a  religion  of  forms  only,  and  nothing  more ;  and  educational 
piety  they  take  to  be  a  mere  soporific  delusion  for  the  most  part,  that 
rather  hinders  than  helps  the  great  work  of  coming  to  Christ.  As  for 
themselves,  they  have  found  out  what  they  conceive  to  be  a  far  more 
excellent  way.  For  what  have  been  supposed  to  be  the  objective 
15 


114  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

•  factors  of  the  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus,  they  throw  themselves 
upon  the  purely  subjective  side  of  the  process ;  making  the  work  of 
Christianity  to  be  an  inward  transaction  wholly  between  each  indi- 
vidual singly  considered  and  his  Maker,  on  the  outside  of  the  Church 
altogether;  in  which,  by  dint  of  certain  spiritual  experiences,  he  is 
held  to  pass  from  death  unto  life,  and  so  to  be  qualified  for  the 
communion  of  the  Church  below,  as  having  his  citizenship  already 
with  the  true  Israel  of  God  on  high.  We  are  all  familiar  with  the 
way  in  which  this  theory  tends  to  discourage  and  bring  into  discredit 
everything  that  is  not  found  to  agree  with  its  own  chosen  machinery 
for  the  accomplishment  of  religious  ends.  For  all  especially  that 
carries  with  it  here  the  character  of  the  gentle  and  the  continuous — 
God's  "  still,  small  voice,"  as  it  causes  itself  to  be  felt  in  the  daily  light, 
and  air,  and  dew  of  heaven — it  has  no  sympathy  nor  understanding. 
It  must  have  the  Holy  Ghost — or  what  it  takes  to  be  the  Holy  Ghost 
— in  the  form  of  whirlwind,  tempest,  and  fire,  or  it  will  not  believe  in 
His  presence  at  all.  The  common  beauty  of  the  sanctuary,  thus,  is 
without  comeliness  in  its  eyes.  Baptism  is  of  less  solemn  significance 
for  it  than  the  anxious  bench.  It  owns  no  household  religion,  in  any 
full  and  proper  sense  of  the  term.  Catechisms,  and  the  entire  appa- 
ratus of  catechetical  instruction  as  it  once  prevailed,  have  come  to  seem 
to  it  no  more  than  the  useless  lumber  simply  of  the  long-buried  past. 

We  have  whole  sects,  we  say,  a  church  membership  amounting 
altogether  to  millions  in  our  American  Christendom,  whose  ecclesi- 
astical life  is  openly  based  on  this  unchurchly  foundation  alone.  But 
the  change  of  which  we  are  speaking  goes  far  beyond  these  bounds, 
and  is  but  too  apparent  everywhere  in  those  denominations  also  which 
still  profess  to  make  account  of  their  historical  descent  from  the  age  of 
the  Keformation.     Neither  the  Lutheran  Church,  nor  any  part  of  the 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  115 

Reformed  Church  in  this  country,  Dutch,  Scotch,  or  German,  (to  say 
nothing  now  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  or  of  the  Congregationalism  of 
New  England),  can  be  said  to  stand  here  firmly  on  the  ground  which 
was  occupied  by  their  religious  ancestry  in  the  beginning.  There  is 
not  the  same  faith  among  them  which  there  was  of  old  in  sacramental 
grace,  in  the  church  membership  of  children,  and  in  the  possibility  of 
bringing  them  up  as  Christians  in  the  nurture  of  the  Lord,  from  their 
earliest  years.  The  Baptistic  principle,  as  it  may  be  called,  has  entered 
widely  into  theu*  theology  and  church  life,  bringing  them  to  make 
large  concessions  practically  to  the  unchui'chly  spirit  around  them ;  so 
that  they  find  it  hard  to  bear  up  against  its  assumptions  and  j^reten- 
sions,  and  are  more  and  more  in  danger  always  of  being  swept  away 
by  it  from  their  ancient  moorings  altogether,  and  driven  forth  into  the 
open  sea  of  spiritualistic  fanaticism  and  unbelief  This  unquestionably 
is  the  great  reason,  why  in  certain  quarters,  within  these  communions, 
such  small  stress  has  come  to  be  laid  on  Infant  Baptism  ;  why  so  little 
account  is  made  of  church  schools ;  and  why  the  systematic  catechiza- 
tion  of  the  young,  as  a  door  of  introduction  to  the  Lord's  table,  has 
fallen  into  such  general  neglect.  The  faith  which  once  lay  at  the 
foundation  of  these  things  has  been  secretly  undermined,  till  there 
is  no  power  at  last  of  dealing  with  them  in  any  truly  earnest  way. 

Let  it  be  well  understood  and  considered,  then,  that  there  is  a 
necessary  connection  between  the  catechetical  practice  of  former  times, 
and  the  general  theory  of  Christianity  in  the  bosom  of  which  it 
flourished  and  had  power ;  and  that  it  is  vain  to  dream  of  restoring  it 
to  honor  or  force,  in  any  other  connection.  Where  the  old  idea  of 
educational  religion,  based  on  the  sense  of  covenant  relation  to  God 
and  baptismal  grace,  has  come  to  be  regarded  with  distrust ;  where 
the  use  of  confirmation,  or  some  equivalent  mode  of  bringing  the  young 


116  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

into  full  communion  with  the  Church,  has  fallen  into  nes-lect  or  dis- 
esteem,  and  the  only  safe  way  of  making  Christians  is  supposed  to  be 
that  of  experimental,  subjective  excitement  and  stimulation,  on  the 
outside  of  these  church  ajDpliances  altogether ;  there,  most  assuredly, 
the  old  idea  of  catechetical  instruction  also  will  be  found  to  have  lost 
its  meaning,  and  there  vnll  be  no  longer  any  power  to  use  a  church 
Catechism  at  all  in  the  manner  of  the  sixteenth  century.     If  there  be 
any  semblance  left  at  all  of  such  teaching,  it  will  be  only  in  the  milk- 
and-water  style  of  such  Bible  lessons  as  are  made  to  serve  their  ephem- 
eral purpose  in  Sunday  schools,  following  no  fixed  rule,  and  leaving 
behind  them  no  solid  indoctrination  whatever.     It  is  not  possible  for 
an  altogether  unchurchly  Christianity  to  be  a  truly  catechetical  Christi- 
anity, whether  this  unchurchliness  show  itself  in  the  pietistic  or  in  the 
openly  rationalistic  form.     Socinianism  and  Anabaptism  had  indeed 
their  Catechisms  ;  but  they  never  entered  into  the  religious  life  of  the 
bodies  to  which  they  belonged.     Arminianism  in  Holland  could  never 
stomach  the  church  use  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism ;  it  was  all  for 
the  Bible,  unbound  by  any  formulary  of  this  sort.     So  in  modern 
times,  we   cannot   conceive  of  any   vigorous   system   of  catechetical 
instruction — in  the  fashion,  for  example,  which  we  find  reported  to 
have  been  common  throughout  the  whole  Reformed  Church  at  the 
Synod  of  Dort — as  being  upheld  and  prosecuted  now  among  Unitari- 
ans, Quakers,  Baptists,  Methodists,  or  any  of  the  openly  unchurchly 
sects  that  go  to  make  up  the  mass  of  our  American  Christianity. 
They  move,  and   have  their  being,  in  a  wholly  diJöferent  order  of 
religion.      They  are,  we  may  say,  constitutionally   uncatechetical   as 
well  as  unchurchly ;  and  must  belie  their  own  existence,  should  they 
think  of  asserting  or  pei"petuating  their  life  now  in  any  such  chui'chly 
way. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION,  117 

PRESENT  ALTERNATIVE. 

It  is  thus  a  very  great  and  solemn  question,  whicli  is  brought  home 
to  the  German  Reformed  Church  in  America  at  this  time,  in  connection 
with  the  Tercentenary  Jubilee  of  the  Heidelberq  Catechism.  It 
is  not  simply  whether  we  shall  continue,  or  not,  to  honor  the  Cate- 
chism, as  it  has  been  honored  by  the  Church  before  us  in  other  lands  ; 
but  this  rather,  whether  we  are  prepared,  or  not,  to  abide  by  the 
theory  and  scheme  of  Christianity  to  which  it  belonged  in  the  begin- 
ning, and  without  which  all  honor  shown  toward  it  can  deserve  to  be 
considered  no  better  than  an  empty  farce. 

We  have  seen  for  what  purpose  it  was  originally  framed,  in  what 
way  it  was  used  of  old,  and  of  what  ecclesiastical  system  it  formed  all 
along  an  integral  part.  It  stands  before  us  as  a  witness  for  what  was 
the  church  faith  and  church  practice  of  the  whole  Evangelical  Protest- 
ant world  in  the  beginning,  both  Lutheran  and  Reformed.  The  faith 
and  the  practice  went  hand  in  hand  together ;  so  that  neither  can  be 
rightly  understood  now,  or  earnestly  honored,  in  separation  from  the 
other.  In  this  age  of  Catechisms,  it  was  part  of  the  general  Christian 
creed  to  believe  in  the  Church,  as  being  in  an  important  sense  the 
Mother  of  all  Christians — without  whose  continual  intervention, 
according  to  Calvin  (Inst,  iv,  ch.  1,  §  4)  there  can  be  no  true  regen- 
eration or  growth  unto  everlasting  life,  as  "beyond  her  bosom  also 
neither  remission  of  sins  is  to  be  hoped  for,  nor  any  salvation."  Along 
with  this  went  the  idea  of  ministerial  powers  and  forces  in  the  Church, 
which  were  held  to  be  superior  to  the  order  of  mere  nature ;  gifts  and 
workings  of  the  Spirit  there,  as  they  were  to  be  found  nowhere  else ; 
sacramental  mysteries,  which  were  not  only  signs  of  the  heavenly  and 
invisible,  but  certifying  seals  also  of  its  objective  presence ;  outward 


118  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

covenant  riglits  and  privileges ;  baptismal  grace,  and  tlie  sanctification 
of  children  to  the  service  of  God  in  this  way,  as  truly  as  if  Christ  had 
laid  His  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them  for  such  purpose.  This, 
we  say,  was  the  reigning  belief;  and  because  it  was  so,  the  age 
addressed  itself  vigorously  everywhere,  as  we  have  seen,  to  the  work 
of  educational  religion,  aiming  to  build  in  such  style  on  the  foundation 
which  was  supposed  to  be  at  hand  in  the  established  order  of  the 
Church.  Hence  the  full  and  universal  subordination  of  the  school  to 
the  sanctuary.  Hence  the  significance  of  the  Catechism,  as  an  organ 
of  Christian  instruction.  Hence  the  catechetical  system,  in  all  its 
ramifications  of  discipline,  whether  private  or  public,  kept  up  con- 
tinually, as  the  grand  support  of  both  altar  and  pulpit,  from  one  end 
of  the  year  to  the  other. 

We  are  surrounded  now,  as  Ave  have  just  seen,  with  a  wholly 
different  practice,  which  is  the  fruit  and  evidence  also  of  a  wholly 
different  faith.  What  that  faith  is,  or  rather  what  it  is  not,  has  been 
mentioned  already  in  general  terms.  It  is  the  absence  of  all  belief  in 
that  side  of  Christianity,  which  is  represented  to  us  in  the  idea  of  the 
Church,  as  being  in  any  way  the  organ  and  medium  of  grace  for  the 
children  of  men.  In  this  respect,  our  modern  sects  generally  are  of 
one  mind.  Calling  themselves  evangelical,  and  professing  to  be 
wholly  governed  by  the  Bible,  they  yet  shut  their  eyes  systematically 
to  the  plain  sense  of  half  the  New  Testament,  and  turn  into  a  nullity 
every  part  of  it  that  owns  the  fact  of  sacramental  grace,  or  makes 
account  of  outward  covenant  interest  in  Christ.  They  will  have  it 
that  there  is  no  such  covenant,  other  than  that  into  which  the  world 
at  large  is  brought,  by  the  death  of  Christ,  and  by  the  free  offer  of  salva- 
tion now  in  His  name.  They  are  all  of  them  thus  constitutionally 
Baptistic  ;  having  no  power  to  see  in  the  church  membership  of  infants 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  119 

and  young  children  anything  more  than  an  empty  form,  and  never 
daring  to  make  any  practical  earnest  with  the  thought  of  their  sanctifi- 
cation  to  God.  Such  has  come  to  be  the  reigning  habit  of  thought,  it 
is  but  too  plain,  with  our  American  Christianity  in  general  at  the 
present  time ;  leading  everywhere,  with  inward  logical  necessity,  to 
what  we  have  just  seen  to  be  its  proper  counterpart  in  ecclesiastical 
life  and  practice. 

Between  these  two  different  systems,  then,  the  German  Reformed 
Church  is  required  now  deliberately  and  intelligently  to  make  her 
choice.  The  Heidelberg  Catechism  belongs  to  one  of  them,  and  it  does 
not  belong  at  all  to  the  other.  If  it  is  to  be  maintained  still  in  true 
honor,  as  a  symbolical  book,  it  must  be  with  the  free  acknowledgment 
of  the  old  church  views  and  ways  with  which  it  was  joined  in  the 
beginning.  It  cannot  be  dissociated  from  these,  without  being  shorn 
at  the  same  time  of  its  proper  spirit  and  life.  No  attempt  to  ingraft 
it  into  a  constitutionally  different  church  system  can  ever  be  successful. 
Taken  out  of  its  own  original  surroundings,  like  an  exotic  plant  in 
strange  soil,  it  can  only  languish  and  die.  It  cannot  be  made  to 
flourish,  with  any  true  confessional  force,  where  there  has  come  to  be  a 
want  of  faith  in  the  old  idea  of  Christian  nurture,  founded  on  covenant 
sanctification  and  baptismal  grace.  It  can  never  be  incorporated 
effectually  with  any  scheme  of  religious  thinking,  which  has  lost  the 
power  of  understanding  what  is  meant  by  Confirmation,  and  along  with 
this  all  sense  of  the  true  motherhood  of  the  Church  in  relation  to  her 
baptized  children.  There  may  be,  indeed,  in  such  circumstances,  an 
affectation  of  zeal  for  the  venerable  symbol,  ostentatiously  assumed  for 
effect.  There  may  be  a  readiness,  at  such  a  time  as  this  especially,  to 
join  in  glorifying  its  merits,  and  in  garnishing  the  sepulchres  of  the 
righteous  men  to  whom  it  owes  its  bh'th.     But  all  such  honor  will 


120  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

prove  to  be  in  tlie  end  hypocritical  and  vain.  In  the  midst  of  it,  tlie 
Catechism  itself  will  be  quickened  into  no  real  life.  It  will  be 
honored  only  as  a  dead  monument  of  the  past,  without  the  possibility 
of  its  being  restored  to  any  enduring  practical  use. 

GENEEAL   MERnS    OF   THE    CATECHISM. 

In  every  view,  we  may  say,  the  Catechism  of  the  Palatinate,  now 
tln-ee  hundred  years  old,  is  a  book  entitled,  in  no  common  degree,  to 
admiration  and  praise.  It  comes  before  us  as  the  ripe  product  of  the 
proper  confessional  life  of  the  Reformed  Church,  in  the  full  bloom  of 
its  historical  development,  as  this  was  reached  at  the  time  when  the 
work  made  its  appearance.  Its  wide-spread  and  long-continued 
popularity  proclaims  its  universal  significance  and  worth.  It  must 
have  been  admirably  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  Church  at  large,  as 
well  as  admirably  true  to  the  inmost  sense  of  its  general  life,  to  come 
in  this  way  into  such  vast  credit.  Among  all  Protestant  symbols, 
whether  of  earlier  or  later 'date,  there  is  no  other  in  which  we  find  the 
like  union  of  excellent  qualities  combined  and  wrought  together  in 
the  same  happy  manner.  It  is  at  once  a  Creed,  a  Catechism,  and  a 
Confession ;  and  all  this  in  such  a  manner,  at  the  same  time,  as  to  be 
often  a  very  Liturgy  also,  instinct  with  the  full  spirit  of  worship  and 
devotion.  It  is  both  simple  and  profound ;  a  fit  manual  of  instruction 
for  the  young,  and  yet  a  whole  system  of  divinity  for  the  old ;  a  text 
book,  suited  alike  for  the  use  of  the  pulpit  and  the  family,  the  theo- 
logical seminary  and  the  common  school.  It  is  pervaded  by  a  scientific 
spirit,  beyond  what  is  common  in  formularies  of  this  sort ;  but  its 
science  is  always  earnestly  and  solemnly  practical.  In  its  whole 
constitution,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  more  a  great  deal  than  doctrine 
merely,  or  a  form  of  sound  words  for  the  understanding.     It  is  doctrine 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION  121 

appreliended  and  represented  continually  in  the  form  of  life.  It  is  for 
tlie  heart  eveiywhere  full  as  much  as  for  the  head. 

Among  its  characteristic  perfections  deserve  to  be  noted  always, 
with  particular  praise,  its  catholic  spirit,  and  the  rich  mystical  element 
that  pervades  so  largely  its  whole  comj)osition. 

Its  catholicity  appears  in  its  sympathy  with  the  religious  life  of 
the  ancient  Church,  in  its  care  to  avoid  the  thorny  dialectics  of  Calvin- 
ism, in  the  preference  it  shows  for  the  positive  in  religion  as  opposed 
to  the  merely  negative  and  controversial,  and  in  the  broad  and  free 
character  generally  which  distinguishes  the  tone  of  its  instructions. 
Considering  the  temper  of  the  times,  and  the  stormy  relations  in  the 
midst  of  which  it  had  its  birth,  it  is  remarkably  free  from  polemical 
passion  and  zeal.  We  have  seen  how  largely  it  is  imbued  with  the 
historical  spirit  of  the  Creed.  It  not  only  makes  use  of  it  as  an  out- 
ward text,  but  enters  with  hearty  interest  and  affection  also  into  its 
general  spirit ;  with  the  sound  and  most  certainly  correct  feeling,  that 
no  Protestant  doctrine  can  ever  be  held  in  right  form,  which  is  not  so 
held  as  to  be  in  truth  a  living  outgrowth  from  this  primitive  Christian 
symbol  in  the  consciousness  of  faith. 

The  mystical  element  of  the  Catechism  is  closely  connected  with  its 
catholic,  historical  spirit.  This  is  that  quality  in  religion,  by  which  it 
goes  beyond  all  simply  intellectual  apprehension,  and  addresses  itself 
directly  to  the  soul,  as  something  to  be  felt  and  believed  even  where  it 
is  too  deep  to  be  expressed.  The  Bible  abounds  in  such  mysticism. 
It  prevails  especially  in  every  page  of  the  Apostle  John.  We  find  it 
largely  in  Luther.  It  has  been  often  said,  that  the  Reformed  faith,  as 
distinguished  from  the  Catholic  and  the  Lutheran,  is  unfriendly  to 
religion  in  this  form ;  that  it  moves  supremely  in  the  sphere  of  the 
understanding,  and  so  is  ever  prone  to  run  into  rationalism ;  and  it 


122  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTIOK 

must  he  confessed,  tliat  tliere  is  some  show  of  reason  for  tlie  charge, 
so  far  at  least  as  regards  what  may  be  considered  the  constitutional 
tendency  here  of  the  Keformed  Confession.  Zuingli's  great  fault,  as 
well  as  his  chief  strength,  lay  in  the  clear  intellectuality  of  his  nature. 
Calvin  had  a  deeper  sense  of  the  mystical,  but  along  with  this  a  still 
vaster  power  of  logic  also,  which  made  it  difficult  for  the  sentiment  to 
come  with  him  to  its  proper  rights.  His  theory  of  the  decrees,  for 
example,  does  violence  continually  to  his  theory  of  the  sacraments. 
As  we  have  it  in  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  however,  the  Reformed 
system  rises  happily  superior  to  all  objection  of  this  soi*t.  Free  regard 
is  had  in  it  throughout,  indeed,  to  the  lawful  claims  of  the  under- 
standing ;  one  of  its  authors  at  least  was  thoroughly  versed  in  all  the 
dialectic  subtleties  of  his  age,  and  an  uncommonly  fine  logic  in  truth 
distinguishes  its  composition  in  eveiy  part.  But  along  with  this  runs, 
at  the  same  time,  a  continual  appeal  to  the  interior  sense  of  the  soul, 
a  sort  of  solemn  undertone  sounding  from  the  depths  of  the  invisible 
world,  which  it  needs  an  unction  fi*om  the  Holy  One  fully  to  hear  and 
understand.  The  words  are  often  felt  to  mean,  in  this  way,  more  than 
they  literally  express.  Simple,  beautiful,  and  clear,  in  its  logical 
construction,  the  symbol  moves  throughout  also  in  the  element  of 
fresh  religious  feeling.  It  is  full  of  sensibility,  and  faith,  and  joyous 
child-like  trust.  Its  utterances  rise  at  times  to  a  sort  of  heavenly 
pathos,  and  breathe  forth  almost  lyrical  strains  of  devotion. 

In  this  way,  the  inward  spirit  of  the  formulary  communicates  itself 
with  powerful  effect  even  to  its  outward  form ;  so  that  its  very 
language  and  style  are  found  to  be  in  large  measure,  as  a  late  German 
vrriter  expresses  it,  "  unübertrefflich  schön " — beautiful  in  the  highest 
degree.  This  is  to  be  understood,  of  course,  as  holding  good  especially 
of  the  German  original ;  where  thought  and  language  are  more  imme- 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  123 

diately  of  one  birth,  and  the  first  shines  through  the  last  as  the  direct 
genial  utterance  of  its  own  life.  But  the  eloquence  of  thought  be- 
comes necessarily  eloquence  of  speech  also,  into  whatever  tongue  it 
may  be  ti-anslated,  in  proportion  precisely  to  the  fidelity  with  which 
the  translation  is  made.  Thus  it  is  that  the  Bible  has  a  character  of 
simplicity,  beauty,  and  grandeur  in  its  style,  which  it  is  not  in  the 
power  even  of  a  bad  version  wholly  to  destroy.  Its  thoughts  clothe 
themselves  with  a  sort  of  necessary  eloquence,  in  all  languages.  And 
80  in  the  same  way  it  is  easy  to  perceive  and  feel  the  peculiar  force  of 
the  Catechism  also,  in  almost  every  form  of  translation  or  version ; 
while,  however,  the  nearer  any  version  may  come  to  the  exact  sense  of 
the  original,  the  more  in  the  nature  of  the  case  may  it  be  expected  to 
come  near  to  it  also  in  such  outward  grace  of  expression.  The 
English  language  in  particular,  by  reason  of  its  native  affinity  with 
the  German,  admits  this  kind  of  translation  in  the  case  to  the  fullest 
extent ;  so  that  nothing  more  is  needed  here  than  a  version,  following 
as  closely  as  possible,  in  the  use  of  old  Saxon  words,  the  very 
letter  of  the  original,  to  represent  the  quality  of  which  we  are  now 
speaking  with  full  efi'ect.  The  Catechism  speaks  the  language  of  faith 
/  and  deep  personal  conviction ;  its  words  come  from  the  heart,  and  take 
hold  upon  the  heart.  It  speaks  the  language  of  life ;  its  words  are 
pictural,  concrete,  of  universal  meaning  and  sense,  significant  for  all 
classes  and  conditions  alike.  It  speaks  the  language  of  devotion,  in 
words  that  breathe  communion  with  the  Spirit  of  God.  It  speaks 
everywhere  the  language  of  authority  and  power,  in  words  that  carry 
with  them  no  uncertain  sound,  but  go  always  directly  and  precisely 
to  their  own  point.  A  certain  priestly  solemnity  and  unction  are 
felt,  in  this  way,  to  run  through  all  its  teachings  ;  so  that,  in  listening 
to  them,  we  seem  indeed  to  hear  the  voice  of  the  Church  itself,  and 


124  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION". 

not  the  words  simply  of  any  single  teacher  speaking  in  its  name.  It 
was  the  sense  of  this  in  part,  no  doubt,  which  led  some  formerly  to 
challenge  for  the  composition  of  the  Catechism  a  sort  of  supernatural 
character ;  something  of  inspiration  in  fact,  or  at  least  an  extraordinary 
baptism  of  the  Spirit,  embracing  both  matter  and  form,  which  might 
be  said  to  approach  toward  inspiration.  Always  simple,  often  beauti- 
ful, it  becomes  at  times  even  grand  and  sublime.  Portions  of  it,  at 
least,  are  like  "  a  very  lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice, 
and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument,"  There  is  music  in  its  tones,  and 
not  unfrequently  the  very  rhythm  and  cadence  of  unconscious  poetry 
in  its  whole  movement.  Quite  a  number  of  questions,  rivalling  or 
approaching  more  or  less  the  magnificent  beauty  of  the  first,  might 
easily  be  quoted  as  examples  of  such  rhetorical  felicity ;  but  it  is 
enough  to  refer  to  them  now  in  this  general  way.  One  of  the  most 
striking  peculiarities  of  this  grand  old  Catechism,  unquestionably,  is 
its  religious  eloquence. 

Rej^resenting,  as  we  have  seen  it  to  do,  the  general  confessional  life 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  age  of  the  Reformation,  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism  carries  with  it  a  special  historical  force  for  all  times.  We 
may  say  indeed,  that  its  existence  is  interwoven  with  the  very  being 
of  Protestantism  itself;  inasmuch  as  we  have  in  it  the  genial,  living 
expression  of  what  was  a  necessary  constituent  of  this  vast  religious 
movement  in  the  beginning.  It  belongs  to  the  creative  period  of  the 
two  great  Protestant  Confessions ;  and  comes  before  us  here  as  the 
spontaneous  utterance  of  the  Reformed  type  of  faith,  in  its  difference 
from  the  Lutheran,  as  well  as  in  their  common  opposition  to  that 
which  prevailed  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  Its  polemical  relations  in 
this  way,  more  generally  silent  than  expressed,  are  at  the  same  time 
plastic  forces,  which  go  everywhere  to  determine  its  positive  constitu- 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  125 

tion  and  character ;  making  it  to  be  for  the  integral  idea  of  Protestant- 
ism what  no  Catechism  or  Confession  could  ever  possibly  have  become 
under  other  circumstances.      It  is  a  mirror  of  the  mind  and  spirit  of 
the  Reformed  Confession,  as  this  was  comprehended  organically  in  the 
entire  movement  of  Christianity  and  the  Church,  when  the  distinction 
first  arose ;   a  particular  symbol,  reflecting  thi^oughout  the  lights  and 
shadows  of  what  may  be  denominated  the  comparative  symbolism  of 
the  age.     In  this  view,  history  shows  it  to  be  of  vital  account  for  the 
whole  course  of  the  Reformation.     In  the  original  antithesis  of  the\ 
Confessions,  it  was  recognized  on  all  sides  as  the  representative  banner  ] 
of  the  entire  Reformed  Church.     With  the  triumph  of  Rationalism  in  j 
later  times,  it  became  more  and  more  an  empty  name,  till  we  find  itj 
sunk  at  last  into  almost  universal  neglect.     Indifterence  to  all  positive ) 
religion,  and  contempt  for  the  Catechism,  went  hand  in  hand  together. 
And  now  that  this  period  of  spiritual  dissolution,  in  the  old  world, 
has  come  to  be  followed  again  with  a  wholesome  reaction,  which  is 
bent  on  building  up  in  new  form  what  it  was  the  fashion  before  to  pull 
down  and  destroy,  one  of  the  most  striking  facts  connected  with  it  is 
the  resurrection  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  once  more  to  life  and 
honor.     Even  the  Confessional   Union,  which  has  for  its  object  the 
consolidation  of  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran  Communions  into  a  single 
Evangelical  Protestant  Church,  is  felt  to  require  this ;  since  there  can 
be  no  positive  taking  up  of  the  full,  whole  sense  of  the  Reformation 
in  any  such  way,  that  shall  not  be  found  to  involve  in  the  end  a  real 
synthesis,  or  true  inward  reconciliation,  of  its  old  opposing  forms  of 
faith.     All  attempts  to  provide  for  such  confessional  amalgamation  by 
wholly  new  formularies  have  signally  failed ;    and  it  has  come  to  be 
generally  understood  now,  that  if  the  union  is  ever  to  be  anything 
more  than  a  lifeless  relation  between  dead  Churches,  it  must  embrace 


126  HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

in  it  the  substantial  spirit  of  the  self-same  symbols,  in  which  is 
enshrined  still  the  power  of  theii'  original  life.  Thus  we  have  what 
has  been  called  a  resuscitation  of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  in  the  new 
Catechism  of  Baden,  as  well  as  in  other  Catechisms  lately  produced 
for  the  use  of  the  Evangelical  Union  in  Germany ;  and  along  with 
this  a  general  reawakening  of  interest  in  the  formulary,  which  has 
made  the  Tercentenary  of  its  formation  on  the  other^  side  of  the 
Atlantic  only  less  memorable,  than  the  observance  of  the  same 
jubilee,  during  this  year  of  secular  terrors  and  sorrows,  in  the  United 
States. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  zeal,  which  has  been  thus 
renewed  for  the  old  classical  symbol  of  the  Reformed  Church,  is  no 
blind  devotion  to  it  as  a  mere  outward  tradition,  and  has  no  tendency 
whatever  to  promote  an  exclusive,  sectarian  spirit.  It  is  wide-hearted 
and  free,  moving  throughout  in  the  hallowed  interest  of  Christian 
love,  and  studying  the  things  that  make  for  unity  and  peace.  It  is 
zeal,  not  for  the  letter  that  enslaves  and  kills,  but  for  the  spirit  which 
works  always  toward  freedom  and  life.  It  does  not  hold  the  Cate- 
chism to  be  the  end  of  all  wisdom,  absolutely  faultless  and  in  every 
respect  complete ;  and  it  involves  no  disposition  to  make  it  a  stiflP, 
unyielding  sarcophagus,  for  the  thinking  of  the  Reformed  Church,  at 
all  points,  to  the  end  of  time.  It  is  honored  simply  for  what  is  felt 
to  be  in  it  the  positive  substance  of  a  once  gloriously  spoken  martyr 
faith,  which  can  never  pass  away;  and  occasion  is  now  taken,  by 
means  of  it,  to  emphasize  and  intone  the  rights  of  this  faith,  as  St.  Paul 
magnified  his  special  office  of  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  division,  but  to  make  room  rather  for  the  end  of  all  strife, 
through  the  full  integration  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  on  a  higher 
plane,  under  a  new,  more  broadly  catholic  and  perfect  form. 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION.  127 

Altogether,  tlie  German  and  Dutch  Reformed  Churches  in  this 
country  have  good  reason  to  glory  in  their  common  symbol,  and  to 
cling  to  it  with  abiding  affection  as  the  most  precious  heii'loom  of 
their  denominational  existence.  Though  not  for  them  here  the  palla- 
dium of  civil  and  political  rights,  as  it  has  been  in  times  past  for 
Churches  in  other  lands,  it  is  still  the  charter  and  warrant  of  their 
proper  ecclesiastical  constitution,  without  which  they  can  have  no 
right  to  continue  their  existence  as  particular  Churches  at  all.  They 
owe  it  to  the  world,  as  well  as  to  themselves,  to  remain  confessionally 
and  ecclesiastically  true  to  their  own  historical  life ;  and  they  can 
claim  for  themselves  no  more  honorable  distinction,  in  the  Christian 
Commonwealth,  than  to  be  known  and  spoken  of  as  the  Chueches  of 
THE  Heidelberg  Catechism. 


THE 

HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM 


IX 


GERMAN,  LATIN    AND  ENGLISH. 


ISimmUmx^  Mxtim. 


17 


130 


CATECmSMUS. 


CATECHESIS 


Catechismus 

ober 
e^iriftli^er   Unbcrri^t.      eeligionis  christians. 


Sßaö  tft  beitt  einiger  trofl  in  Itbm 
önb  in  j!erkn? 

^ntiDort* 
3)af  id)  mit  €ei6  onb  ©eel,  t)e^be  in 
leBen  onb  in  j!erl)en'*),  nic^t  mein^), 
fonber  nteine^  getreten  ipeilanbgs  :^^efu 
ß^^rifti  eigen  Bin*=),  ber  mit  feinem 
t^eirren  Uut^),  für  alte  meine  fünben 
üotf omlid)  ^^ejalet  ^),  ün  mid)  an§  attem 
gjralt  be^  ^eufeU  erlofet  ^at^,  »nb 
alfo  beiDaret^),  bap  o^ne  ben  mitten 
meinet  S5ater^  im  ipimmetö,  lein  ^aax 
öon  meinem  l^aupt  fan  fatten^),  ja  anä) 
mir  atte^  ju  meiner  fetigleit  bienen 
muf')+    !DarnmB  er  mi(^  anct)  bnr^ 

«)  Korn.  14.  fc)  1  Cor.  6.  c)  1  Cor.  3. 
d)  1  Pet.  1.  e)  1  loh.  1.  et  2.  /)  1  loh.  3. 
g)  loh.  6.    Ä)  Matt.  10.  Luc.  21.    i)  Kom.  8. 


I. 

QucB  est  unica  tua  consolatio  in 
vita  et  in  morte  f 


Quod  aüimo  pariter  et  corpore, 
sive  vivam,  sive  moriar,  non  mens, 
sed  fidissimi  Domini  et  Servatoris 
mei  Jesu  Ciiristi  sum  proprius, 
qui  pretioso  sanguine  suo  pro  om- 
nibus peccatis  meis  plenissima  solu- 
tione  facta,  me  ab  omni  potestate 
diaboli  liberavit,  meque  ita  conser- 
vat,  ut  sine  voluntate  Patris  mei 
coelestis,  ne  pilus  quidem  de  meo 
capite  possit  cadere :  im6  vero  etiam 
omnia  saluti  mese  servire  oporteat. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


131 


!J)er 


THE 


^eiMJcrgcr  tatei5i§intt§.      Heidelberg  catechism. 


Stage  1*  Question  1. 

2ßa^  x\i  beiti  einiger  Zxo^  im  ße^en        What  is  thy  only  comfort  in  life 
unb  im  ©terpen?  and  in  death  ? 


5(ntwort* 
2)af  i(^  mit  SeiB  unb  (Seele,  Beibe^ 
im  Sekn  nnb  im  ©terkn,  nic^t  mein, 
fonbern  meinet  getreuen  ^eilanbeö  3efu 
(S()rifti  eigen  Bin,  ber  mit  feinem  t^eu^ 
ren  23Iute  für  alle  meine  ©ünben  üoH* 
lommen  Bejahtet,  unb  mi(^  au^  alter 
©emalt  be^  ^eufet^  erlöfet  )!)Cii,  unb 
alfo  t)eira^ret,  baf  o!^ne  ben  SBiüen 
meinet  S5ater^  im  ^immel  fein  ^aar 
öon  meinem  Raupte  fann  fatten,  ja  au(i) 
mir  WXt^  gu  meiner  ©eligleit  bienen 
muf  ♦  ADarum  Sr  mic^  au(i^  bur^  feinen 


Answer. 
That  I,  witli  body  and  soul,  both 
in  life  and  in  death,  am  not  my 
own,  but  belong  to  my  faithful 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  with 
His  precious  blood  has  fully  satis- 
fied for  all  my  sins,  and  redeemed 
me  from  all  the  power  of  the  Devil ; 
and  so  preserves  me,  that  without 
the  will  of  my  Father  in  heaven 
not  a  hair  can  fall  from  my  head ; 
yea,  that  all  things  must  work  to- 
gether for  my  salvation.    Where- 


132 


CATECHISMUS. 


feinen  ^eilige  ®eifl  beö  ewigen  lebend  Quocirca  me  quoque  suo  Spiritu  de 
üerft(^ett^),  ünb  }m  fortbin  px  lekn  vita  aeterna  certum  facit,  utque  ipsi 
üon  ^er^en  tüiltig  onb  bereit  nta^t^*        deinceps  vivam  promptum  ac  para- 


k)  2  Cor.  1.  Ephes.  1.  Eom.  8.     l)  Eom.  8. 


tum  reddit. 


grag. 
SBieuiel  |lü(f  feinb  bir  notig  ju  tuif^ 
fen,  baf  bn  in  biefem  troji  feligli^  leben 
ünb  fterben  mogeft? 


n. 

Quot  sunt  tibi  scitu  necessaria, 
ut  illa  consolatione  fruens  heate 
vivas  et  moriaris  f 


Stntnjott» 

3)re9  ftö^O*  @tftti(J)  ii?ie  grof 
meine  funbe  önb  elenb  fe^en^)*  3wm 
anbcrn,  njic  x^  öon  alten  meinen  [ün=^ 
ben  ünb  elenb  erlofet  werbe'')*  S5nb 
jum  brüten,  mie  tc^  ®ott  für  foI(^e  er^ 
lofung  fott  bamlbar  fein^)» 

a)  Luc.  24.    1  Cor.  6.   Tit.  3.     h)  loh.  6.  et 
15.    c)  loh.  17.    d)  Eph.  5. 


Tria.  Primum,  quanta  sit  peo- 
cati  mei  et  miserise  meae  magnitudo. 
Alterum,  quo  pacto  ab  omni  pec- 
cato  et  miseria  liberer.  Tertium, 
quam  gratiam  Deo  pro  ea  libera- 
tione  debeam. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


133 


l^etttgen  ©eij^  beö  emtgen  Sebenö  ux^ 
fid)ert,  unb  ^^m  fott^^in  ju  leten  oon 
^erjen  Ji?ilttg  unb  fccreit  madjU 


fore,  by  His  Holy  Spirit,  He  also 
assures  me  of  eternal  life,  and  makes 
me  heartily  willing  and  ready  lience- 
fortli  to  live  unto  Him. 


2Bie  öiete  (BtMt  ftnb  bit  nöt^ig  ju 
»ilfen,  baf  bu  in  biefem  Zxoftt  feligUd) 
lefcen  nnb  jlerfcen  ntögefi? 

5(ntn)ott* 
3)ret  @tii(fe*  Stfltid),  n?te  gro^  meine 
(Siinbe  nnb  Slenb  fet*  Bum  ^tnbern, 
n)ie  ic^  üon  alten  meinen  «Sünben  unb 
(?Ienb  ertöfet  luerbe*  Unb  jnm  ^Dritten, 
wie  id)  ©Ott  für  foId)e  Sriöfung  fo0 
banifcar  fein» 


Question  2. 

.öö^d;  many  things  are  necessary 
for  thee  to  Icnow,  that  thou  in  this 
comfort  mayest  live  and  die  hap- 
pily f 

Answee. 

Three  tilings:  First,  the  great- 
ness of  my  sin  and  misery.  Sec- 
ond, how  I  am  redeemed  from -all 
my  sins  and  misery.  Third,  how  I 
am  to  be  thankful  to  God  for  such 
redemption. 


134  CATECHISMIJS. 


Ser  erfte  X^tü.  pkima  pars. 

S^ott  beö  menfi^en  elcnb.  i>e  HOMmis  miseeia. 


Srag.  III. 

Sooner  erfennejhi  betn  elenb  ?  Z/hde  tuam  miseriam  cognoscis  f 

5tuf  bem  ®e[e|  ©otteö  0*  Ex  Lege  Dei. 

a)  Rom.  3. 

?!tag.  ly. 

SÖa^  erforbert  benn  ba^  ©ottUiJ)  Quid  a  nobis  ^ostulat  Lex  Dei  f 

5(ntn)ort* 

'^x^  lehret  »n^  (S^rtjk^  in  einer  Id  docet  nos  Christus  summatim, 

fumma,  5D^att^*  am  22*     2)U   fott  Matth.  xxii :  Diliges  Dominum  De- 

liei>en  ®ott  beinen  Herten,  »on  urn  tuum,ex  totocorde  tuo,ex  tota 

ganzem    l)er^ett,    oon    ganger  anima  tua,  ex  tota  cogitatione  tua, 

feelen,  üon  ganzem  gemut^  ünb  et  ex  omnibus  viribus  tuis.    Istud 

alien  Irefftem     3)if  ifi  baö  fur*-  est  primum  et  maximum  manda- 

nemBj^e  onb  baö  grojie  ©etot:  tum.    Secundum  autem  simile  est 

!^aö  anbcr  a^et  ifl  bem  gleic^,  liuic:  Diliges proximum tuum sicut 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


135 


Ser  erftc  X^til 


Sooner  eriennefi  bu  bein  Slenb? 

5(ntmort» 
5(uö  bent  ©efe^  ©otte^. 


THE  FIRST  PART. 

OF    MAN'S    MISERY. 


Question  3. 
Whence  hnowest  thou  thy  misery': 

Answee. 
Out  of  tlie  Law  of  God. 


^tage  4. 
SBag  erforbert  benn  Id^  göttliche 
©efe^  üon  un^  ? 

Stntwort* 
!Dteg  lehret  unö  d^riftu^  in  einet 
©umnta,  2}^att^*  ant  22:  ^u  foltjl 
liefen  ©Ott  beinen  iperrn  üon 
ganzem  ^erjcn,  »on  ganger 
(Seele,  öon  ganzem  ©entüt^ 
unb  allen  Gräften*  Dieö  ij^ 
ba^  oornc^ntjie  unb  ba^  größte 
©ebot»    2)a^  anbete  a^tx   ijl 


Question  4. 
What  does  the  Law  of  God  re- 
quire of  us  f 

Answee. 
This  Christ  teaches  us  in  sum, 
Matth.  22:  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength. 
This  is  the  first  and  great  com- 
mandment ;  and  the  second  is  like 
unto  it :  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 


136 


CATECmSMUS. 


!Du  folt  beinen  ^tä)^tn  liefen     teipsum.     Ab  istis  duobus  man- 
aU    bic^    felB^»      Sn    biefen     datis  tota  Lex  et  ProplxetsB  pen- 
jwe^en  ©cBottcn  fanget  baö    dent, 
ßan^e  ©efe^  »nb  bie  ^ro^l^e^ 
ten. 


Äanjhi   btf    atte^  oollomli^  l^al* 
ten? 

5tntn)ott» 
^iein"):   !Denn  t(^  ^in  öon  S^latur 
geneigt  ©ott  onb  meinen  ^tä^fUn  ju 
Raffen  ^). 

a)  Eom.  3.  1  loh.  1.    5)  Eom.  8.  Ephes.  2. 

$at  ben  ®ott  ben  menfc^en  alfo  U^ 
ünb  öerlert  erfi^affen? 

Stntwott* 
SfJein  ^) :  fonber  ®ott  1)at  ben  nten^ 
fd)en  gut,  önb  na<J)  feinem  eknbilb  er^ 
[(Raffen  ^),  baö  ift,  in  war'^afftiger  ge^» 
re(^tigleit  on  l^eitigleit,  auff  bj  er  ©Ott 
feinen  fc^opffer  tec^t  erlente,  önb  öon 
^er^en  Iiet)te,  önb  in  emiger  feligleit 
mit  Jm  Ithkf  Jm  gu  Iol)en  önb  ju  !ptei^ 
fenO. 

a)  Gen.  1.    h)  Gen.  1.    c)  2  Oor.  3.  Colos.  3. 
Ephes.  4. 


V. 

iV^m  ÄöBc  omnia  perfecte  servare 
potes  f 

Minime.  Natura  enim  pro- 
pensus  sum  ad  odium  Dei  et 
proximi. 

VI. 

Num  ergo  Deus  Twminem  ita 
pravum  etperversum  condidit? 

Nequaquam.  Imo  vero  bonum 
et  ad  imaginem  sui  condidit  eum, 
hoc  est,  vera  justitia  et  sanctitate 
prseditum,  ut  Deum  creatorem 
suum  recte  cognosceret,  ex  animo 
diligeret,  cum  eo  beatus  in  seternum 
viveret,  idque  ad  eum  laudandum 
et  celebrandum. 


THE  HEIDELBEKG  CATECHISM. 


137 


bem  gtci(f):  X)u  fotlfi  betnen 
««allien  lieBcn  al^  bid)  feUj^. 
3n  biefen  jmeien  ©efcoten  l^an^ 
ßct  ba^  ganje  ®efe^  unb  bic 

^annfl:  bu  biefen  Mt^  ijoltlommen 
l^alten? 

^dn :  benn  id)  bin  üon  Statut  ge^» 
neigt,  ©Ott  xtnb  meinen  9Zä^j^en  ^u 
l^affen* 


bor  as  thyself.  On  tliese  two 
commandments  hang  all  the  law 
and  the  prophets. 


QUESIION    5. 

Canst  thou  keep  all  this  perfect- 

lyf 

Answee. 
No:  for  I  am  "hj  nature  prone 
to  hate  God  and  my  neighbor. 


^at  benn  ®ott  ben  9}ienfd)en  alfo 
1)0^  unb  öerfe^tt  etfc^affen  ? 

S(ntn)ort* 
Wxxix  fonbern©Dtt  ^at  ben  Wtxi^ 
f^en  gut  unb  nad^  feinem  (SbenBitb 
etf<^affen,  baö  ift,  in  ma^r^aftiger  @e^ 
te^tigleit  unb  ^eiligleit;  auf  ba§  er 
Oott  feinen  ©(^ö^fer  red)t  erienne, 
unb  öon  ^erjen  liebe,  unb  in  ewiger 
©eligleit  mit  3^^  ^^be,  3^n  ju  loben 
unb  ^u  greifen* 


Question  ^. 
Z>w^  6^0  J  create  man  thus  wicked 
and  perverse  ? 

Answee. 
No :  but  God  created  man  good, 
and  ajpter  His  own  image,  that  is, 
in  righteousness  and  true  holiness ; 
that  he  might  rightly  know  God 
his  Creator,  heartily  love  Him,  and 
live  with  Him  in  eternal  blessed- 
ness, to  praise  and  glorify  Him. 


18 


138 


CATECHISMUS. 


SOBoI)er  !ompt  benn  foI(^e  oerbet^tc 
art  beö  menfc^en? 

5(up  bem  fatt  »nb  onge^orfant  unfer 
erjlen  (Altern  5{bamö  üitb  Suen  im 
5)arabei^ "),  ba  ünfet  Statur  alfo  öet^ 
gifftet  njorben,  baf  tub  alte  in  funben 
empfangen  onb  geboren  n^otben^)* 

a)  Gen.  3.  Eom.  5.    i)  Psal.  51. 

??tag. 
@etnb  mir  a^er  bermaffen  öerberBt, 
ba§  n^ir  gan^  onb  gar  untüchtig  feinb 
ju  einigem  gutem,  onb  geneigt  ju  allem 
J  fen  ? 

5(ntn)ort* 
Sa ") :  (So  fei  ben,  ba§  n)ir  burc^  ben 
®ei|!  ©otte^  njiberge^oren  werben^)* 

a)  lohan.  3.  lob.  14.  et  15.  Esai.  53.     h)  lo- 
han.  3. 

Stag* 
3;^ut  benn  ®ott  bem  menf(^en  nid)t 
ijnre(I)t,  ba§  er  in  feinem  gefe^  üon  jm 
forbert,  ba^  er  nid)t  fan  t!^un  ? 

5tntn)ort* 
Ü^lein  ^) :  5)enn  ®ott  ^at  ben  men^ 
f(^en  alfo  erf(^affen,  ba§  er  e^  lonbtc 

a)  Eplies.  4. 


vn. 

Unde  igitw  existit  Ticec  naturoB 
humance  pravitas  ? 

Ex  lapsu  et  inobedientia  primo- 
rum  parentum  Adami  et  Evse.  Hinc 
natura  nostra  ita  est  depravata,  ut 
omnes  in  peccatis  concipiamur  et 
nascamur. 

vni. 

An  vero  adeo  corrwpti  sv/mus^ 
ut  ad  hens  agendum  prorsus  non 
simus  idone%  et  ad  omne  vitium 
proclives  f 

Certe ;  nisi  per  Spiritum  Sanctum 
regeneremur. 


IX. 

An  non  igitur  Dens  homini 
injuriam  facit^  qui  ab  eo  in  lege 
flagitet^  quce  prcestare  non  queatf 

Minime.  Nam  Deus  hominem 
talem  condiderat,  ut  ea  praestare 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


139 


Stage  l . 
SBo'^et  fommt  benn  folc^c  oerbet'^te 
Strt  be^  2)Jenfc^en? 

%x^  bem  Sail  xinb  Unge'^orfam  un*= 
ferer  erften  Altern,  Slbant  unb  (Söa,  im 
^arabte^,  ba  imfere  5'latur  alfo  »er^ 
giftet  irorben,  bap  mir  5tl(e  in  (Sünben 
em:pfangen  unb  geboren  »erben* 


Question  7. 
Whence  then  comes  this  depraved 
nature  of  man  ? 

A]srs"WEE. 
From  the  fall  and  disobedience 
of  our  first  parents,  Adam  and  Eve, 
in  Paradise,  whereby  our  nature 
became  so  corrupt,  that  we  are  all 
conceived  and  born  in  sin. 


Stage  8. 
®inb  tt)it  at)et  bennafen  »erberBt, 
ba§  mir  ganj  unb  gar  xtntiid)tig  ftnb  gu 
einigem  ©uten  unb  geneigt  ju  attem 
S3öfen? 

5(ntmort* 

Sa;  eg  fei  benn,  bap  mir  burd>  ben 
®ei|!  ©otteg  miebergel5oren  merben»         by  the  Spirit  of  God. 


QuESTioisr  8. 

But  are  we  so  far  depraved^  that 
we  are  wholly  unapt  to  any  good 
and  prone  to  all  evil  f 

Answee. 
Yes;  unless  we  are  born  again 


Stage  9» 
%\)VX  benn  ©ott  bem  ^D^Jenf^en  ni^t 
unrei^t,  bap  Sr  in  feinem  ©efe^e  üon 
i^m  forbert,maö  er  nict)t  t^un  fann? 

5(ntmort* 
9lein :  benn  ®ott  ^at  ben  SO^JenfAjen 
alfo  erfi^affen,  bap  er  eg  lonnte  t^n ; 


Question  9. 
Does  not  God  then  wrong  man, 
hy  requiring  of  him  in  His  law 
that  which  he  cannot  perform  ? 

Answee. 
No  :  for  God  so  made  man,  that 
he   could   perform   it ;    but  man, 


140 


CATECmSMUS. 


t^n:  ber  Wtn\ä)  akr  l)at  fi(^  önb 
alte  feine  nad)!onnnen,  auö  anftljftung 
be^  :^eufel0,  bur($  mutmitligen  mige^or=' 
fam  berfeIHgen  gaben  beraubt» 

2Bit  ®ott  fol(^en  ünger)orfam  onb 
abfalt  ongeitrafft  laffen  ^inge^en  ? 

3(ntn)ott» 
5[Rit  nt(^ten  ^) :  fonber  er  jürnet 
f^reiilic^,  be^be  ober  angeborne  »nb 
n?ürdlid)e  fünben,  önb  n)il  fie  auf  ge=* 
rechtem  örtl)eil  jeitüd)  onb  emig  j^raffen, 
tüic  er  gcfprod)en  :^at:  25  er  flu  (^t 
fei^  ieberman,  ber  ni(^t  bleibet 
in  allem  bem,  baö  gefc^rieben 
liefet  in  bem  bu(^  beö  ©efe^eö, 
baf  erö  t^ue^)* 

o)  Eom.  5.  Heb.  9.     l)  Deut.  27.  Gal.  3. 

grag» 

Sft  benn  ®ott  ni(^t  auc^  barm^ 
^er^ig? 

StnttDort* 
©Ott  ift  vooi  barm'^erlig*),  er  iji 
aber  auc^  gcre(^t  ^),  ber^alben  erforbert 
feine  gere^tigleit,  bap  bie  funbe,  ml^t 

a)  Exo.  34.     h)  Exo.  20.  Psal.  5.  2  Cor.  6. 


posset ;  verum  homo,  impulsore 
diabolo,  sua  ipsius  contumacia,  se  et 
omnem  posteritatem  divinis  illis 
donis  orbavit. 

X. 

Nitm  Dens  lianc  contumaciarrh 
et  defectionem  lioininis  dimittit  im- 
punitmn  ? 

Imo  vero  horrendis  modis  irasci- 
tur,  cum  ob  innata  nobis  peccata, 
tum  ob  ea,  quae  ipsimet  committl 
mus ;  eaque  justissimo  judicio  tem 
poralibus  et  aeternis  suppliciis  punit 
quemadmodum  ipse  pronunciat 
Maledictus  omnis,  qui  non  perma 
net  in  omnibus,  quae  scripta  sunt 
in  libro  legis,  ut  ea  faciat. 

XI. 

An  non  igitur  Dens  etiam  est 
Tniserioors  f 

Est  ille  quidem  misericors,  verum 
ita  ut  etiam  sit  Justus.  Quapropter 
postulat  ejus  justitia,  ut  quod  ad- 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


141 


bet  Tltn\ö)  ahtx  '^at  fi^  unb  atlc  feine  through    the    instigation    of   the 

S'Za($lommen,  au^  Stnjliftung  be^  Ztu='  Devil,  by  wilful  disobedience  de- 

^tUf  biir^  mut^wittigen  Unge^otfant  prived  himself  and  all  his  posterity 

berfelbigen  (3abtn  UxmUU  of  this  power. 

forage  10.  Question  10. 

SBtlt  ©Ott  foIcj)en  Unge^otfam  unb  Will  God  suffer  such  disobedience 

5(bfall  ungejhaft  lajfen  l^inge^en?  and  apostasy  to  go  unpunished  f 


5(ntn)ort. 
50^it  mieten;  fonbetn  Sr  jurnet 
fc^retfUc^,  kibe^  über  angeborne  unb 
tütr!Ii(^e  (Sünben,  unb  mill  fie  auö  ge^ 
red)tem  Uttl^eil  jeitli^  unb  eiuig  ftra^ 
fen,  tüie  dx  gefproc^en  ^at :  25erflu<^t 
fei  Sebetntann,  ber  ni(^t  Meibet  in 
attem  bent,  bag  ge[d)rieben  jle^et  in 
bent  33u(^  be^  @e[e|eg,  baf  et  eö 
tl^ue* 


Answee. 
By  no  means ;  but  He  is  terribly 
displeased  with  our  inborn  as  well 
as  actual  sins,  and  will  punish  them 
in  just  judgment  in  time  and  eter- 
nity, as  He  has  declared:  Cursed 
is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in 
all  things  which  are  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law,  to  do  them. 


i^tagc  11* 
Sil  benn  ®ott  mä)t' ana)  fcarm* 
^etjig? 

5(ntnjort* 

®ott  ifl  wo^l  barnt^er^ig,  St  ijl 

aber  auc^  geregt;  ber^atben  erforbert     is  likewise  just ;  wherefore  His  jus- 

fcinc    ©erec^tigleit,  ba§  bie  ©itnbe,     tice  requires  that  sin,  which  is  com- 


Question  11. 
Is  then  God  not  also  merciful  f 

Answee. 
God  is  indeed  merciful,  but  He 


142  CATECHISMÜS. 

tüiber  btc  atterpd)fte  matefiet  ©otteö  versus   smnmam  Dei    majestatem 

Begangen  i|!,  aucj)  mit  ber  ^6(!)jle,  baö  commissum  est,  id  etiam  ut  summis, 

x%  ber  ewigen  jiraff  an  leit  on  feel  ge^  toe  est,  sempiternis,  cum  animi  turn 

jlrajft  tuerbe*  corporis  suppliciis  luatur. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM.  143 

welche  triber  bte  alterpd^fic  2}?a}ef!dt  mitted  against  tlie  most  high  ma- 

©otteg    begangen  ifl,   auc^  mit    ber  jesty  of  God,  be  also  punished  with 

pd)j!en,  ba^  x%  ber  emtgen  ©träfe  an  extreme,  that  is,  with  everlasting 

!2eib  unb  (Seele  gejlraft  »erbe»  punishment  both  of  body  and  soul. 


144 


CATECmSMUS. 


^tx  ankx  Xijtil  SECuroi  pars. 

SBon  bcö  dJltnl^tn  Srlöfuitg.     de  hominis  libekatione. 


Stag* 
Wieweit  tüir  benn  naä)  bem  gerechten 
t>rtl;eil  ®otteö  jettüf^c  ünb  eroigc  firaff 
oerbient  l)akn :  mie  m6d)len  mir  biefer 
flrajf  entgelten,  önb  miberum^  ju  gna^ 
ben  lommen? 

^(ntiDort* 
©Ott  mit  bap  feiner  gered)tigleit  ge^ 
nug  gefi^e^e"),  bernjegen  Tnüjfen  it>ir 
berfelbeu  entweber  biird)  önö  felbft,  ober 
burd)  einen  anbern  uollomene  kjalung 
t^un^). 

a)  Exo.  20.  et  23.     h)  Rom.  8. 

f^tag. 

Tonnen  wir  al)er  burc^  ön^  felbj^  k^ 
falling  tl^nn? 


XII. 

Quoniam  igitur  justo  Dei  judi- 
cio  tennporalihus  et  ceternis  poenis 
ohnoxii  sumus  '  estne  reliqua  ulla 
ratio  aut  via,  qua  his  poenis  lihere- 
mur,  et  Deo  reconciliemur  f 

Vult  Deus  suae  justitiae  satisfieri : 
quocirca  necesse  est,  vel  per  nos, 
vel  per  alium  satisfaciamus. 


XIII. 

Possumusne  ipsi  per  nos  satis- 
facer e  f 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


145 


Ser  stoeite  ^IjciL  the  secOiND  papj. 

^ott  bt§  Mtn\^tn  ©rlöfung.     oe  man's  redemption. 


^rage  12* 
2)tc»eil  mir  beim  na6)  bent  gerec^* 
ten  Utt^eil  ©otte^  3eitticf)e  unb  emtge 
(Strafe  »erbienet  ^abtn;  n)ie  ntöcf)ten 
mir  biefer  (Strafe  entgegen,  unb  xok^ 
berunt  ^u  @naben  lommen  ? 

%nttooxt* 
©Ott  voxU,  ba§  feiner  ®ere(^tig!eit 
genug  gefcj)e^e;  be^iuegen  ntiiffen  tuir 
berfelben  entmeber  buret)  tmö  felbjl  ober 
burc^  einen  5lnbern  ooKfommene  S3e=' 
ja^Iung  tl^un*  • 


Question  12. 
/S'mce  then,  htj  the  righteous  judg- 
ment of  God,  we  deserve  temporal  and 
eternal  punishment,  what  is  required 
that  we  may  escape  this  punishment 
and  he  again  received  into  favor  ? 

Answee. 
God  wills  tliat   His  justice  be 
satisfied;  therefore  must  we  make 
full  satisfaction  to  the  same,  either 
by  ourselves  or  by  another. 


?5rage  13. 
können  mir  akr  burc^  un^  fet^fl 

SSeja^lung  t^un? 
19 


Question  13. 

Can  we  ourselves  mahe  this  satis- 
faction f 


146 


CATECHISMUS. 


5!J?it  ni^tl :  fonber  mir  ma^tn  au(^         Nulla  ex  parte :  quin  etiam  debi- 
bie  fc^ulbt  noä)  tegU(^  groJTer")*  turn  in  singulos  dies  augemus. 

a)  lob.  5.  et  15.  Matt.  6. 


Äan  aba  }tgenbt  eine  Ho|[e  dxtatux 
für  ÜU0  fcejalen? 

Stntwort* 
Äeine:  T)tnn  erpic^  mit  ©Ott  an 
feiner  anbern  Sreatur  ftraffen,  ta^  ber 
menfc^  öerfcbulbet  l^at^)*  ßxm  an^ 
bern,  fo  Ian  and)  feine  HoJTe  dreatiir 
ben  taj!  be^  emigen  jorn^  ©otteö  miber 
bic  funbe  ertragen,  »nb  anbere  baruon 
crlofen^)* 

a)  Heb.  2.     b)  Psal.  138. 

grag* 
2Öaö  mnffen  mir  ben  für  ein  ^xttltx 
unb  (briefer  fu^en? 

^tntmort* 
©inen  folc^en,  ber  ein  marer*),  »nb 
geregter  menfi^  ^),  on  boc^  fterfer  ben 
atte  Sreatnren,  ba^  ifi,  jugleic^  marer 
©Ott  fer)* 

a)  1  Cor.  15.  5)  lere.  33.  Psal.  53.  2  Oor.  5. 
Heb.  7.  c)  Esai.  7.  Kom.  8.  lere.  23. 


XIV. 

Potestne  uUa  creaturarum^  in 
coelo  vel  in  terra^  quce  tantum  crea- 
tura  sit^  pro  nobis  satisfacere  ? 

Nulla.  Nam  principio  non  vult 
Deus,  quod  homo  peccavit,  id  in 
alia  creatura  plectere ;  deinde  nee 
potest  quidem,  quod  mera  tantum 
creatura  sit,  iram  Dei  adversus  pec- 
catum  sustinere,  et  alios  ab  ea 
liberare. 

XV. 

Qualis  ergo  qucerendus  est  media- 
tor et  liberator  f 


Qui  verus  quidem  homo  sit,  ac 
perfecte  Justus,  et  tamen  omnibus 
creaturis  potentior,  hoc  est,  qui 
simul  etiam  sit  verus  Deus. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


147 


Stntwott*  Answee. 

SJJit  nt(^ten:    fonbern  xoix  ma^cn         By  no  means:  on  tlie  contrary, 
auc^  bie  (Sc^ulb  nocf)  tdgltc^  gtof  er*         we  daily  increase  our  guilt. 


^axin  abix  trgenb  eine  Hope  Sreatur 
für  unö  teja^len? 


Question  14. 
Can  any  mere  creature  make  sat- 
isfaction for  us? 


5tntwort» 
teilte:  benn  erftlid)  will  ®ott  an 
feinet  anbetn  Srcvitur  ftrafen,n)a0  ber 
S5?en[6  oerfc^iilbet  ^at ;  jum  5(nbern, 
fo  lann  au(^  leine  Hofe  Sreatnr  bie 
Cajl  be^  ewigen  ßorneö  ©otteö  nnber 
bie  ©iinbe  ertragen,  nnb  ^nbere  baoon 
erlöfen* 


Ajstswek. 
None :  for  first,  God  will  not 
punish,  in  any  otlier  creature,  that 
of  wMcli  man  has  made  himself 
guilty ;  and  further,  no  mere  crea- 
ture can  sustain  the  burden  of 
God's  eternal  wrath  against  sin, 
and  redeem  others  therefrom. 


^rage  15* 
2Baö  müfTen  mir  benn  für  einen 
50'littter  unb  (Sriöfer  fu(J)en? 

5(ntn)ort* 
(Sinen  foId)en,  ber  ein  toa^rer  unb 
gerechter  5!}ienfc^,  unb  bo(^  jlärfer  benn 
alte  Kreaturen,  ba^  tjl,  jugleic^  toa^rer 
©Ott  fei* 


Question  15. 
What  manner  of  mediator  and 
redeemer  then  must  we  seek  f 

Answee. 
One  who  is  a  true  and  sinless 
man,  and  yet  more  powerful  than 
all  creatures,  that  is,  one  who  is  at 
the  same  time  true  God. 


148 


CATECHISMUS. 


Sßarumt)  mup  er  ein  voaxtx  öub  öe= 
renter  menfd;  fein? 


XYI. 

Our  necesse  est  eum  verum  liomi- 
nem^  et    quidein  perfecte  justum 


esse  t 


5(ntwott* 
2)arumB,  ba§  bie  gere<^tig!eit  ©ot^        Quia  justitia  Dei  postulat,  ut 

tc^  erforberf*),  ba§  bie  menfc^li(^e  na=  eadem  natura  humana,  quae  pecca- 

tur,  bie  gefünbiget  ^at,  fur  bie  fünbe  vit,  ipsa  pro  peccato  dependat;  qui 

bejale:   önb  aber  einer,  ber  felbft  ein  vero  ipse  peccator  esset,  pro  aliis 

fünber  iuere,  ni(^t  fonbte  für  anbere  depeudere  non  posset. 

a)  Eom.  5.     h)  1  Pet.  3.  Esai.  53. 


%xaQ. 
SBarinn  muf  er  jugleic^  nearer  ®ott 
fein? 


XVIL 

Quare  oportet  eum  simul  etiam 
vere  Deum  esse  f 


5(ntnjort. 

^af  er  au^  Irafft  feiner  Ootf^eit,  Ut  potentia  suae  divinitatis,  onus 

ben  ta^t  be0  jorn^  ©otte^,  (xx^  feiner  irse  divinse  carne  sua  sustinere,  no- 

tnenfd)^eit  ertragen"*),  ön  ün^  bie  ge^  bisque  amissam  justitiam  et  vitam 

xe^tigleit,  onb  baf  leben  enterben  ^),  reparare  ac  restituere  possit. 
»nb  mibergeben  mD(J)te'')* 

d)  Esai.  53.  Act.  2.   1  Petr.  3.     V)  loh.  3. 
Act.  20.    c)  lohan.  1. 

^rag>  XVIII. 

2Ber  iji  aber  berfelbe  mittler,  ber  Quis  autem  est  ille  Mediator^  qui 

pgteid)  marer  ®ott,  önb  ein  »arer  ge^  simul  est  verus  Deus^  et  verus  per- 

re(^ter  menf(^  ijl?  fecteque  Justus  homo  f 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


149 


^ragc  16*  .         Question  16. 

SKarum  mxif  er  ein  magrer  unb  ge^        Why  must  he  be  a  true  and  sin- 
renter  SfJlenfd)  fein?  less  man  ? 


5(ntnjort* 
2)antm,  xotxl  bte  @ere(^ttg!ett  ®ot^ 
te^  erforbert,  bap  bte  menfc^Iii^e  S'^atur, 
bte  gefiittbtget  ^at,  für  bte  ©itttbe  be=* 
ja'^Ie;  aBer  Sitter,  ber  felBft  eitt  ©iitt^ 
ber  iväre,  ttic^t  föttttte  für  ^itbere  It^ 
^a^tett* 


Answee. 
Because  tlie  justice  of  God  re- 
quires, tliat  the  same  human  nature 
which  has  sinned  should  make 
satisfaction  for  sin;  but  no  man, 
being  himself  a  sinner,  could  satisfy 
for  others. 


^ragc  17. 
SBarum   tttuf    er  pgletcj)  wahrer 
©Ott  fein? 

5(nttDort* 
!J)af  er  an^  Äraft  feiner  (Botf^ett 
bie  Saft  beö  Bornen  ©otteö  an  fetner 
SD^enf^'^ett  ertragen,  unb  un^  bte  ®e^ 
rec^ttglett  unb  'i)0.^  CeBen  erwerben 
unb  tüteber  ge^en  möcf>te* 


Question  17. 
Why  must  he  he  at  the  same  time 
true  God? 

Answee. 
That  by  the  power  of  his  God- 
head he  might  bear,  in  his  man- 
hood, the  burden  of  God's  wrath, 
and  so  obtain  for  and  restore  to 
us  righteousness  and  life. 


i^rage  18*  Question  18. 

Sßer  if!  a^er  berfelbe  ^DZittler,  ber  But  who  now  is  that  Mediator^ 

jitgleii^  nja^rer  ®ott  unb  ein  wahrer  who  is  at  the  same  time  true  God 

gerechter  3}ienf^  ijt?  and  a  true^  sinless  Man  ? 


150 


CATECHISMUS. 


iBnfer  ^err  Sefu^  S^rtjlu^^)  ber 
ünö  jur  uoUfomenen  erlofxmg  ünb  ge* 
rec^tiglett  gefd)enlt  i^^). 

a)  Matt.  1.  1  Tim.  3.  Luc.  2.    b)  1  Cor.  1. 

5(ntn?ort* 
5(u9  bem  '^eiligen  (Suangelio,  meI(I)S 
©Ott  felbji  anfengltc^  im  ^arabci^'') 
]^at  offenbaret :  folgenbö  buret)  bie  ^ei^ 
lige  ©r^ueter^)  mib  ^rop^eten  taffen 
üerlunbigen,  önb  huxä}  bic  opffer  önb 
anbere  ceremonien  be^  gefe^eö  fürgeMl* 
bet*"),  (Enbltc^  aber  burc^  feinen  einge^ 
liel)ten  ©on  erfüllet  "^)* 

a)   Gen.  3.     b)   Gen.   22 


Dominus  noster  Jesus  Christus, 
qui  factus  est  nobis  a  Deo  Sapientia, 
Justitia,  Sanctificatio  et  Redemptio. 

XIX. 

ühde  id  sets  f 

Ex  Evangelio:  quod  Dens  pri- 
mum  in  Paradiso  patefecit,  ac  dein- 
ceps  per  Patriarclias  et  Prophetas 
propagavit;  sacrificiis,  reliquisque 
cerenioniis  legis  adumbravit;  ad 
extremum  vero  per  Filium  suum 
unigenitum  complevit. 


Heb.  1.   Act.  3.  et  10. 
3)  Korn.  10.   Gala.  4. 


et  49.    Eom.  1. 
c)Ioli.  5.    Heb.  10. 


^rag* 
SBerben  benn  alte  ntenfd)en  juiberum 
bur^   S[)rt|^um  felig,   toie  fie    bur^ 
Stbam  fmb  verloren  toorben? 
5(ntmort* 
S^lein:  fonber  attetn  btejentgen,  bte 
burc^  maren  glauben  }m  werben  einge== 
teilet,  ünb  alte  feine  too^It^aten  an^ 
nenten^)* 

a)  loh.  1.  Isai.  53.  Psal.  2.  Eom.  11.  Heb. 
4.  et  10. 


XX. 

Num  igitur  omnihus  hominibuSj 
qui  in  Adamo  perierant^  per  CJiriS' 
tum  Salus  redditur  f 

Non  omnibus,  verum  iis  tantum, 
qui  vera  fide  ipsi  inseruntur,  ejusque 
beneficia  omnia  amplectuntur. 


.     THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM.  151 

5tntn?ort.  Answee. 

Unfer  ^etr  3efuö  S^rij^u^,  bet  unö  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is 

^ur  üoUlommenett  (Srlöfung  unb  ©e=  freely  given  unto  us  for  complete 

re<^ttgleit  öefc^enlt  ift>  redemption  and  righteousness. 

^ragc  19^  Question  19. 

2Bo^et  metft  bu  bag?  TFAmce  Tcnowest  thou  tliisf 

5(ntWort*  Answer. 

Stuöbcml^eiltgeneöangelium:  met^  From  the  Holy  Gospel:   which 

c^e^  ®ott  felBft  anfänglt(^  im  ^arabte^  God  Himself  first  revealed  in  Para- 

^at  gcoffenBatet ;  in  ber  ^olge  bur(^  bie  dise ;  afterwards  proclaimed  by  the 

l^citigen  (gtjoäter  unb  ^rop()etcn  laffen  holy  Patriarchs  and  Prophets,  and 

üerlünbigen,  unb  burc^  bie  O^fer  unb  foreshadowed  by  the  sacrifices  and 

anbete  (S^erentonien  be^  ©efe^e^  üotge^  other  ceremonies  of  the  law;  and 

t)ttbet;  enbli(^  akr  burd)  feinen  einge^  finally  fulfilled  by  His  well-beloved 

liel)ten  ©o^n  ctfüttet*  Son. 


^rage  2  0*  Question  20. 

Serben  benn  atte  SJZenf^en  mtebetum         vlre  all  men  then  saved  hy  Christy 

bur(^  G^^ttftum  [elig,  mt  fte  burc^  5(bam  «<9  ^Aey  have  perislied  hy  Adam  ? 
finb  oerloren  worben? 

5(ntiDort*  Answee. 

9Zetn ;  fonbern  altein  bteientgen,  bie         No ;  only  such  as  by  true  faith 

bUT(i)  magren  ©Iau6en   3^nt  werben  are  ingrafted  into  Him,  and  receive 

einöerletBt,  unb  alle  feine  2Öot;It|aten  all  His  benefits, 
annehmen* 


152 


CATECmSMUS. 


2Öaö  ift  marer  gtauB? 

a^  tjl  nic^t  aUdn  em  geiuiffe  er!ant=^ 
nuf ,  barbur(^  ic^  atte^  für  mar  ^oltt, 
toa^  öttö  ©Ott  in  feinem  mort  ^at  offen^* 
lant ") :  fonber  and)  ein  :^er^Iid)eö  öer^ 
tramen^),  n)etd)eö  ber  ^eilige  ©eljt'') 
burd)ö  Suangelium  in  mir  toxvcätf^), 
baf  ni^t  altein  anbern,  fonber  au^ 
mir  üerget)nng  ber  «Sünben,  emige  ge^ 
red)tig!eit  onb  feligfeit  üon  ®ott  ge^ 
fc^endt  fei^),  au§  tanter  gnaben,  attein 
üm^  beö  oerbienjlö  S^rifti  mitten^)* 

a)  Heb.  11.  lacob.  2.  h)  Rom.  5.  et  10. 
c)  2  Cor.  4.  Ephes.  2.  (f)  Eom.  1.  e)  Heb.  2. 
Eom.  1.    /)  Ephes.  2.  Rom.  3. 


XXI. 

Quid  est  vera  fides  f 

Est  non  tantum  certa  notitia,  qua 
firmiter  assentior  omnibus,  quae 
Deus  nobis  in  verbo  suo  patefecit, 
sed  etiam  certa  fiducia,  a  Spiritu 
sancto  per  Evangelium  in  corde 
meo  accensa,  qua  in  Deo  acquiesco, 
certo  statuens,  non  solum  aliis,  sed 
miM  quoque  remissionem  peccato- 
rum,  seternam  justitiam,  et  vitam 
donatam  esse,  idque  gratis,  ex  Dei 
misericordia,  propter  unius  Cliristi 
meritum. 


grag* 
2Öa^  ift  aBer  einem  S^rifien  not^  ju 
glan"ben? 

Stnttoort* 

setter  toaö  ünö  im  (Suangetio  üer== 

l^eiJTen  toxti"),  metd)^  onö  bie  5trticfel 

ünferö  atgemeinen  üngejmeiffette  Sl^rifi^ 

Ii(^e  ©tauBen^  in  einer  fumma  teuren* 

a)  lob.  20.  Matt.  28. 


xxn. 

Qucenam  sunt  illa,  quce  necesse 
est  liominem  Cliristianum  Gliedere  ? 

Omnia,  qusB  nobis  in  Evangelio 
promittuntur,  quorum  summa  in 
Symbolo  Apostolieo,  seu  in  capiti- 
bus  catliolicee  et  indubitatse  omni- 
um Ckristianorum  fidei,  breviter 
comprebenditur. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


153 


grage  21* 

Sg  ijt  ntd)t  aUtin  eine  geiDtffe  @r^ 
lenntnif,  baburi^  x^  Wit^  für  »a^r 
l^alte,  maö  unö  ©Ott  in  feinem  SÖortc 
l^at  geoffenBaret ;  fonberu  and)  ein 
]^erjli(^e^  Sertrauen,  jDetc^eö  bet  !^eilige 
©eift  burd)  baö  Soangelium  in  mir 
tt)irlet,  ba^  ni(^t  allein  ^nbern,  fonbern 
aud)  mir  35ergeBnng  ber  (Sünben,  endige 
©ere^tigleit  unb  ©etigleit  üon  ®ott 
gefc^enlet  fei,  au^  lauter  Onaben,  allein 
um  beö  SSerbienfte^  (S^rij^i  iüillen* 


Question  21. 
What  is  trice  faith  f 

Answee. 
It  is  not  only  a  certain  knowl- 
edge, whereby  I  hold  for  truth  all 
that  God  has  revealed  to  us  in  His 
word ;  but  also  a  hearty  trust,  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  works  in  me  by  the 
Gospel,  that  not  only  to  others,  but 
to  me  also,  forgiveness  of  sins,  ever- 
lasting righteousness  and  salvation, 
are  freely  given  by  God,  merely  of 
grace,  only  for  the  sake  of  Christ's 
merits. 


grage  22> 
2ßa^  ifi  a^er  einem  S^ri|!en  not^ig 
p  glaukn  ? 

5tntn)ort* 
Wit§,  njae  un0  im  Söangelium  oer== 
]^ei§en  mirb,  tuelc^e^  unö  bie  5trti!el 
unfere0  allgemeinen  unge^eifelten 
c^rifili($en  ©lau^en^  in  einer  (Summa 
le'^ren* 


QUESTIOIT  22. 

What  is  it  then  necessary  for  a 
Christian  to  believe  f 

Answee. 
All  that  is  promised  us  in  the 
Gospel,  which  the  articles  of  our 
catholic,  undoubted  Christian  faith 
teach  us  in  sum. 


20 


154  CATECHISMUS. 

gtag.  XXIII. 

2Bie  lauten  btefelkn?  Qitod  est  ilhid  Symlohim  f 

Sc^    gtau^    in    ®ott    ^<xitx,  Credo    in    Deum,  Patrem    om- 

bctt    allme^ttgen,    ©c^o^jffer  nipotentem,     creatorem    coeli     et 

l^immcU  ünb  bet  erben*  terrae. 

S5nb  in  S^fum  S^^rijlum,  fei^  Et  in  Jesum  Christum  Filium 

nen  ein g el) o men  ©on  önfern  ejus    unigenitum,   Dominum    nos- 

^@3^9ft5^,  bet  empfange  ijl  »on  trum:  qui  conceptus  est  de  Spiri- 

bent  Zeitigen  ©eifi,  gemote  auf  tu    Sancto,  natus   ex   Maria   vir- 

^Jiaria  ber  Sungframen,  gelit^  gine;    passus   sub  Pontio  Pilato, 

ten   »nber  pontio   pilato,  ge=^  crucifixus,  mortuus,   et    sepultus; 

creu^iget,  gejlorben  unb  begta^  descendit  ad    inferna;    tertia  die 

ben,  abgefiiegen  ju  ber  gellen,  resurrexit  a  mortuis;  ascendit  ad 

am  britten  tage  »iber  auffer^*  coelos,  sedet  ad  dextram  Dei  Pa- 

fianben  oon  ben  tobten,  auffge^  t^'is  omnipotentis ;   inde  venturus 

faren  gen  ^immel,  fi|et  ju  ber  est  judicatum  vivos  et  mortuos. 

Siechten  ©otte^   beö  anme(^ti=*  Credo    in     Spiritum    Sanctum, 

gen    SSater^,    öon    bannen    er  Credo  sanctam  Ecclesiam  catholi- 

!onten  wirb,  ju  rid)ten  bie  Ie*=  cam;  sanctorum  communionem ;  re- 

fcenbigen  önb  bie  tobten»  mission  em  peccatorum;   carnis  re- 

3^  alaul)  in  ben  Beitiaen  surrectionem ;  et  vitam  seternam, 
(Beijt,  eine  ^eilige  altgemeine 
S^rijltid)c  Äird)c,  bie  gemein^ 
f(^afft  ber  ^eiligen,  oerge^bung 
ber  funben,  aufferj^e^ung  beö 
flcif(^c^  »ttb  ein  ewigö  leben. 


THE  HEroELBERG  CATECHISM.  155 

garage  23*  Question  23. 

4Bie  tauten  biefelkn  ?  What  are  these  Articles  f 

5(nt»ort*  Answer. 

3d)  gtau!)e  an  ®ott  25ater,  I    believe  in  God    the  Father 

ben   Stllmäc^ttgen,  (Sd)öpfer  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven  and 

^immet^  unb  ber  (grben*  earth. 

Unb  an  3efum  dl^rtfium,  fet==  And  in  Jesus  Christ,  His  only 

nen  etngeBornen  ®ol)n,  unfern  begotten  Son,  our  Lord:  who  was 

^etrn:    ber  empfangen  ifl  öon  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  bom 

bent    l^etUgen    ©eijie,   gct)oren  of  the  Virgin  Mary;  sufferedunder 

auö  5!}Zarta  ber  Jungfrau;  ge^  Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified,  dead, 

litten    unter    ^ontio    ^itato,  and  buried;    He   descended  into 

gelreujiget,  gejtorben  unb  be^  hades;  the  third  day  He  rose  from 

graben;   l^inabgefa^ren  in  baö  the  dead ;  He  ascended  into  heaven, 

5tobtenretd^;   ant  britten  Za^t  and  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of 

«jteber    auferfianben    öon    ben  God  the  Father  Almighty;  from 

^Tobten;  aufgefahren  gen  iptnt-  thence  He  shall  come  to  judge  the 

met,  fi^et  ju  ber  9le^ten  ®ot-  ^l^^i^k  and  the  dead, 

tes?  be«  atlma^tigen  SSater«;  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost :  the 

»on  bannen  dx  fommen  mirb  Holy  Catholic  Church ;  thecommu- 

^u  rieten  bte  Sebcnbigen  unb  nion  of  saints;  the  forgiveness  of 

bie  Slobten*  sii^s ;  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 

S(^  gtaube  an  ben  fettigen  and  the  life  everlasting, 
©etjl::  eine  Zeitige  attgemeinc 
^ir(^e;  bie  ®emeinfc()aft  ber 
fettigen;  35ergebung  ber  ©un^ 
ben;  Slufcr j^c^ung  be«  f^tei* 
f(S^cö,  unb  ein  ewige«  geben» 


156 


CATECHISMUS. 


fBk  werben  biefe  %xMd  a^t^ 
tl;eilt? 

5ltttwort* 

3n  bret)  t^etL  T)er  erfte  ift  öon 
©Ott  bem  35ater,  onb  onfer  erf(^opffung* 
!Der  anber  oon  @ott  bem  «Son,  onb 
önfcr  eriofimg.  'Dn  britt  öon  @ott 
bem  ^eiligen  Oeijt,  onb   önfer  ^tx^ 

^rag> 
2)ien)eil  nur  ein  einig  ©ottli^  wefen 
ifi  *) :  iüarumB  nennejk  brei^,  ben  SSa* 
ter,  (Son  »nb  i^eiligen  ©eift? 

5tnt»ott* 

!I)arum"6  baf  ftd)  ©ott  atfo  in  feinem 
»ort  geojfenBaret  I;at^),  ba§  biefe  brei^ 
ünberf(i)iebli(^c  ^erfonen,  ber  einig 
n?a'^r^fftig  emig  ®ott  feinb* 

a)  Deut.  6.     i)  Esai.  61.   Psal.  10.   Matt.  3. 
et  28.   1  loh.  5. 


XXIY. 

In  quot  pa/i'tes  disi/i^ibuitfwr  Two 
Symbolum  f 

In  tres  partes.  Prima  est  de  Deo 
Patre,  et  nostri  creatione.  Altera 
est  de  Deo  Filio,  et  nostri  redemp- 
tione.  Tertia  est  de  Deo  Spiritu 
Sancto,  et  nostri  sanctificatione. 

xxy. 

Cum  una  sit  tantum  essentia  di- 
vina^  cur  tres  istos  nominas,  Pa- 
trem^Filium^  et  Spiritum  Sanctv/m? 

Quia  Deus  ita  se  in  verbo  suo 
patefecit,  quod  tres  lige  distinct89 
personae  sint  unus  ille  verus  et  seter- 
nus  Deus. 


THE  HEroELBERG  CATECHISM. 


157 


2Bie  werben  biefe  %xixtd  at>ge* 
t^eilt? 

Sn  btet  ^^eile:  !l)er  erjie  ijl  »on 
©Ott  bem  3}ater,  utt't)  imferer  (Srfc^af== 
fung;  ber  anbete  öon  ®ott  bem 
(Boljntf  nnb  unferct  (Sriöfnng;  ber 
britte  öon  ®ott  bem  ^eiligen  ©etfle, 
unb  unferer  ^eitignng* 

forage  25* 
X)teiüeil  nur  ein  einiget  göttltcf)e^ 
SBefen  t|l,  marnm  nennej^  bn  brei,  ben 
35ater,  ©o^n  unb  ^eiligen  ®etjl  ? 

SlntiDort» 
^arnm,  t»eil  ft^  ®ott  alfo  in  feinem 
Sßort  geojfenBaret  f)atf  baf  biefe  brei 
unterf^ieblic^en  ^erfonen  ber  einige, 
jDa^r^afttge,  ewige  ®ott  fmb* 


QuiESTiois'  24. 
How  <we  these  Articles  divided  f 

Answer. 
Into  three  parts :  Tlie  first  is  of 
God  the  Fatlier,  and  our  creation ; 
tlie  second,  of  God  the  Son,  and  our 
redemption  ;  the  third,  of  God  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  our  sanctification. 

Question  25. 

Since  there  is  hut  one  Divine 
Being,  why  speakest  thou  of  three. 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  ? 

Answer. 
Because   God    has    so  revealed 
Himself  in  His  word,  that   these 
three  distinct  Persons  are  the  one, 
true,  eternal  God. 


158 


CATECHISMUS. 


^on  (Boit  hm  ^attt. 


DE    DEO    PATEE. 


2Öa0  gtaukjhi,  wenn  bu  \prxä)% 
3(ä)  Qlaub  in  ®ott  25ater,  bett  altme(^^ 
tige,  <S(^6^ffer  ^hnelö  önb  ber  erben? 

5(nttDort» 
2)af  ber  ewig  SSater  »nfer^  iperrn 
3efu  d^xxftif  ber  ipimel  önb  (Srben 
fantpt  aüem,  »a^  brtnnen  i%  au§  nic^t^ 
erfc^affen*"),  auc^  biefelbtgen  no(^  bur(^ 
feinen  ewigen  rl;at  unb  furfe^ng  er'^ett 
»nb  regieret  ^) :  umh  feinet  ©on5 
d^rijli  mitlen,  mein  ©ott  »n  mein 
SSater  fe^  ^^),  auff  vodä)tn  ic^  alfo  öer^^ 
trawe,  ba§  i(^  nic^t  s^eiffel,  er  n»erbe 
mi(^  mit  aKer  notburjft  leib^  »nb  ber 
feelen  üerforgen*^),  a\xä}  aUt^  ökl,  fo 
er  mir  in  biefem  }amert()al  jnfc^iiJet, 
mir  lu  gut  wenben  *) :  biemeit  er^ 
t^un  fan,  aU  ein  attmet^tiger  ©ott  ^)  : 
»nb  auä)  t^un  mil  aU  ein  getren^er 
2}aterO* 

a)  Gen.  1.  Psal.  33.  5)  Psal.  104.  Matt.  10. 
Heb.  1.  Psal.  115,  c)  loh.  1.  Rom.  8.  Gal.  4. 
Ephes.  1.  d)  Psal.  55.  Matt.  6.  Luc.  12. 
e)  Rom.  8,    /)  Rom.  10.    g)  Matt.  6.  et  7. 


XXVI. 

^2^i6?  credis  cum  dicis :   Ceedo 
IN  Deum  Pateem  ojo^ipotentem, 

CEEATOEEM  CCELI  ET  TEEEiE  ? 


Credo  seternmn  Patrem  Domini 
nostri  Jesu  Cliristi,  qui  coeluin  et 
terram,  cum  omnibus,  quae  in  iis 
sunt,  ex  nihilo  creavit,  quique  eadem 
aeterno  suo  consilio  et  Providentia 
sustentat  ac  gubernat,  propter 
Chiistum,  Deum  meum  et  Patrem 
meum  esse;  itaque  sie  ei  confido, 
sie  in  eo  acquiesco,  ut  non  dubitem, 
quin  provisurus  sit  omnibus,  cum 
animo,  tum  corpori  meo  necessa- 
riis :  quin  etiam,  quae  mihi  mala  in 
Lac  aerumnosa  vita  immittit,  ea  in 
meam  salutem  sit  conversurus;  cum 
et  facere  id  possit,  ut  omnipotens 
Dens,  et  facere  id  velit,  ut  be- 
nignus Pater. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


159 


^ott  (Bott  bcm  ^attx. 


OF  GOD  THE  FATHER. 


2ßaö  ölaukft  bu,  wenn  bu  fprtc^ft : 
3(3^  glauBe  an  ©ott  S5ater,  ben 
StUmäc^ttgen,    (Sc^ö|)fer   iptm^ 
melö  unb  bet  (Srben? 
5tnt»ott* 

2)af  ber  etoige  25ater  nnfere^  ^errn 
3efu  S^rtj^t,  ber  Fimmel  unb  (Erbe, 
fammt  altem  it)a^  barinnen  \^,  auö  nid)tö 
erf(I)affen,  anc^  btefelbigen  no(i)  bur(^ 
feinen  ett)igen  ülatl;  unb  25orfe()ung  et* 
l^ält  unb  tegtett,  um  feinet  ©o^ne^ 
ß^tifti  »iüen  mein  ©Ott  xmb  mein 
S5atet  fei ;  auf  n^elc^en  ic^  atfo  öetttaue, 
baf  iä)  ni(^t  ^njeifte,  (St  wetbe  mxä)  mit 
attet  5'lot^butft  Ceibeö  unb  bet  (Seele 
üetfotgen,  aud)  aUeö  Hebet,  fo  St  mit 
in  biefem  3cimmett^t  s^ifc^i^it,  mit  ju 
gut  n?enben ;  bieweit  (St  eö  tt;un  lann, 
aU  ein  attmä(^tiget  ©ott,  unb  au^ 
t^un  Witt,  al^  ein  getteuet  SSater* 


Question  26. 

What  dost  thou  believe  when  thou 
sayest :  I  believe  est  God  the  Fa- 
ther Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven 
AND  earth  ? 

Answer. 

That  the  eternal  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  of  nothing 
made  heaven  and  earth,  with  all 
that  in  them  is,  who  likewise  up- 
holds and  governs  the  same  by  His 
eternal  counsel  and  providence,  is 
for  the  sake  of  Christ  His  Son  my 
God  and  my  Father;  in  whom  I 
so  trust,  as  to  have  no  doubt  that 
He  will  provide  me  with  all  things 
necessary  for  body  and  soul;  and 
further,  that  whatever  evil  He  sends 
upon  me  in  this  vale  of  tears  He 
will  turn  to  my  good;  for  He  is 
able  to  do  it,  being  Almighty  God, 
and  willing  also,  being  a  faithful 
Father. 


160 


CATECHISMUS. 


2ßa^  üerfte^ej^u  butc^  bie  furfe^ung 
(*5otte^? 

Xk  attmec^ttge  onb  gegeniuerttge 
frafft  ©otte^''),  burc^  «?eH)e  er  ^liüel 
unb  erbe,  fampt  aüen  dreaturen,  glcii^ 
al^  mit  feiner  I)anb  no(^  er^elt^),  i?nb 
alfo  regiert,  ba§  laub  onb  graf ,  regen 
unb  burre,  frud)tBare  on  önfru<^tbare 
jar,  effen  önb  trinken "),  gefunb^eit  önb 
fran(!§eit*)  reii^t^m'b  onb  armut!^^) 
ünb  aUt^f  ni(^t  o^e  gefe^r,  fonber  üon 
feiner  üdterU(^en  ^anb  ünö  julomme* 

a)  Act.  17.     5)  Heb.  1.     c)  lere.  5.    Act.  14. 
d)  loh.  9.    e)  Prou.  22. 


XXYII. 

Quid  est  Providentia  Deif 


Omnipotens  et  ubique  praesens 
Dei  vis,  qua  coelum  ac  terram  cum 
omnibus  creaturis  tanquam  manu 
sustinet  ac  gubernat ;  ut  quae  terra 
nascuntur,  pluvia  item  et  siccitas, 
fertilitas  et  sterilitas,  cibus  et  po- 
tus,  bona  et  adversa  valetudo,  divi- 
tiae  et  paupertas,  omnia  denique, 
non  temere  aut  fortuito,  sed  pater- 
no  ejus  consilio  et  voluntate  con- 
tingant. 


grag* 
2Öa^  fur  nu^  belommen  wir  au^  er^ 
fantnu^  ber  fd}6pffung  ünb  fürfe^ng 
©otte^? 

5lntn)ort* 
!t)ap  wir  in  aller  wiberwertigleit  ge* 
bultig^),  in  gIMfeligleit  bandbar^) 
mtb  aup  pfünftig  guter  juuerfic^t  ju 
ünferm  getrenjen  ©ott  ün  SSater  fein 
fotten,  ba§  ünö  leine  ß^reatur  öon  feiner 

d)  Eom.  5.    lacob.  1.    lob.  1.    V)  Deut.  8. 
1  Thess.  5. 


XXVIII. 

Quid  nobis  prodest  Jicec  cognitio 
creationis  et  providentice  divincef 


Ut  in  adversis  patientes,  in  se- 
cundis  grati  simus,  in  futurum  vero 
optimam  in  Deo  fidissimo  Patre 
spem  repositam  habeamus,  certo 
scientes  nihil  esse  quod  nos  ab  ejus 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


161 


forage  27. 
2ßa0  oer|^eI)ft  bu  untet  bet  S5or*= 
fe^ung  ©otte^  ? 

5(ntmort* 
;i)tc  aümäc^tigc  unb  gcgcnn?atttgc 
Äraft  ©otte^,  buri^  meiere  (Sr  ^tmmel 
unb  dx'Cif  fammt  atten  Kreaturen,  gteid) 
dö  mit  feiner  ^anb  noc^  erl^ält,  unb 
alfo  tegiert,  baf  ^aub  unb  ©raö,  9?e^ 
gen  unb  X)ürre,  fru(^tfeare  unb  un^ 
fru(^tBare  ^a^xt,  (SjTen  unb  ^rinlen, 
©efunb^eit  unb  Äran!(;eit,  ületc^t!^um 
unb  5(tmut:^,  unb  %Ut^f  nt(^t  üon  o^n* 
gefäl)r,  fonbern  öon  feiner  oäterlic^en 
^anb  unö  julomme* 


Question  2Y. 
TFAöi^  «ib.s'^  tJiou  understand  hy  the 
Providence  of  God? 

Answer. 
The  almighty  and  everywhere 
present  power  of  God,  whereby,  as 
it  were  by  His  hand.  He  still  up- 
holds heaven  and  earth,  with  all 
creatures;  and  so  governs  them, 
that  herbs  and  grass,  rain  and 
drought,  fi'uitful  and  barren  years, 
meat  and  drink,  health  and  sick- 
ness, riches  and  poverty,  yea,  all 
things,  come  not  by  chance,  but  by 
His  fatherly  hand. 


i^rage  28. 
2Öa0  für  5lu^cn  "belommen  ttJtr  au^ 
ber  Sr!enntni§   ber  @d)ö^fung    unb 
S5ürfe^ung  ©otte^? 

2(ntn)ort. 
X)af  \X)\x  in  aller  2ßibern?arttg!eit 
gebulbig,  in  ©liicffeligleit  banlbar, 
unb  auf'^  ßulünfttgc  guter  3uöerfi(^t 
ju  unferm  getreuen  ®ott  unb  SSater 
fein  fotten,  baf  unö  leine  (Sireatur  »on 


Question  28. 
Wliat  does  it  profit  us  to  hnow 
that  God  has  created,  and  hy  His 
providence  still  upholds  all  things  f 

Answee. 
That  we  may  be  patient  in  ad- 
versity ;  thankful  in  prosperity ; 
and  for  what  is  future,  have  good 
confidence  in  our  faithful  God  and 
Father,  that  no  creature  shall  sep- 


21 


162 


CATECmSÄIUS. 


liek  [gelben  wirb "),  bicmeil  aUt  (Jrea* 
tute  alfo  in  feiner  ^anb  fmb,  ba§  fte 
ftc^  one  feinen  tinllen  aud)  nic^t  regen 
no<^  bewegen  fonnen"^)* 

c)  Rom.  8.     d)  lob.  1.  Act.  17.  Prou.  21. 


amore  abstrahat ;  quandoquidem 
omnes  creaturse  ita  sunt  in  ejus  po- 
testate,  ut  sine  ejus  arbitrio,  non 
modo  nibil  agere,  sed  ne  moveri 
quidem  possint. 


^on  ®ott  bcm  Son, 


f^tag. 
2ßarnm~b  mirbt  ber  ®on  ©otte^ 
Sefu^,  baö  i%  feIigma(J)er  genant  ? 

5(ntmort* 
X)aruml)  bap  er  ünö  feiig  ma(i)t  üon 
unfern  funben'')  onb  bap  I)e^  feinem 
anbern  einige  feligleit  ju  fu(^en  noc^  ju 
flnbenijt^)* 

a)  Matt.  1.    &)  Act.  4. 

Srag* 
©laufen  benn  bie  auä)  an  ben  eini^ 
gen  fetigmad)er  3efum,  bie  jre  feligleit 
ünb  ^eil  be^  ^eiligen,  bei  Jnen  ^db% 
ober  anberj^roo  fni^en  ? 

Stntwort* 
5^ein :  fonber  fte  oerleugnen  mit  ber 
t^at  ben  einigen  ©eligmac^er  onb  $ei== 


DE    DEO    FILIO. 

XXIX. 

Quare  Filius  Dei  a^ppellatur  Je- 
sus, lioG  est,  Salvator  ? 

Quia  nos  salvat  ab  omnibus  pec- 
catis  nostris ;  nee  uUa  salus  vel  peti 
aliunde  debet,  vel  alibi  reperiri 
potest. 

XXX. 

Creduntne  igitur  Uli  in  unicum 
8ervatorem  Jesum,  qui  a  Sanctis, 
aut  a  se,  aut  aliunde  felicitatem  so- 
lutemve  qucerunt? 

Non;  etsi  enim  verbo  quidem 
eo  Servatore  gloriantur,  re  ipsa  ta 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


163 


feiner  8iek  [(Reiben  »irb ;  biemeil  alle  arate  us  from  His  love ;  since  all 

dreaturen   alfo  in   feiner  ^anb  fmb,  creatures  are  so  in  His  hand,  that 

ba§  fie  fic^  oI;ne  feinen  SBilten  ana)  without  His  will  they  cannot    so 

nid^t  regen  nod)  kmegen  lönnen*  much  as  move. 


S5on  (Bott  htm  (Bo^nt. 


forage  29* 
SBarnm    mirb    ber  (So^n  ©otte^ 
5efuö,  ba^  ift,  ©eligmai^er  genannt? 

5(ntwort» 
X)arum,  »eil  @r  unö  felig  maä)t  oon 
unfern  (3ünben,  xmb  n^eil  ki  feinem 


OF    GOD    THE    SON. 


Question  29. 
Why  «t9   the  Son  of  God  called 
Jesus,  that  is,  Saviour  ? 

Ajstswee. 
Because  He  saves  us  from  our 
sins :    and   no   salvation   is  to  be 


5(nbern  einige  (Seligleit  ju  fu^en  nod)     either   sought    or  found    in    any 
^u  flnben  ij!»  other. 


^rage  30* 
©tauten  benn  bie  and)  an  ben  eini^ 
gen  (Seligmad)er  Sefum,  bie  i^re  (Selig^ 
feit  unb  ^eil  bei  ^eiligen,    ki    fi(^ 
felbjl,  ober  anber^n?o  fu(5^en? 

5lntnjort* 
S^letn;   fonbern  fie  öertäugnen  mit 
ber  %^(xi  ben  einigen  ©eligma^^er  unb 


Question  30. 
Do  such  then  believe  in  the  only 
Saviour  Jesus,  who  seeh  their  sal- 
vation and  welfare  of  saints,  of 
themselves,  or  anywhere  else  f 

Answee. 
No ;     although  they  may  make 
their  boast  of  Him,  yet  in  act  they 


164 


CATECHISMUS. 


lanb  3efum,  oB  fte  ftc^  fein  gtei(^  t^^ 
tnen^).  3)enn  cntwcber  ^efu^  nit  ein 
öolfornnet  ^eilanb  fein  mup :  ober  bie 
biefen  ^eitanb  mit  ojatem  glauben  an^ 
nemen,  mü|Ten  aüc^  in  Jm  ^aben,  ba^ 
gu  trer  fetigleit  üonnoten  i|i^)* 

a)  1  Cor.  1.    Gala.  3.     h)  Esai.  9.    Ool.  1.  2. 
loh.  1. 

SÖarumb  ift  er  ei;riftu^,  baö  i)l,  ein 
gefalzter  genant? 

5(ntwort* 
X)a§  er  öon  ®ott  bem  35ater  öer^ 
orbnet,  önb  mit  bem  ^eiligen  ©eift^) 
gefaltet  i%  lu  önferm  oberften  ^rop^e= 
ten  önb  ^e^rer,  ber  ön^  ben  :^eimU(^en 
r'^at  onb  mitleit  ©otteö  oon  onfer  erto^ 
fung  ool!omli(^  offenbaret''):  23nb  ju 
önferem  einigen  ^ol)cn  ^riefler,  ber  önö 
mit  bem  einige  opffer  feinet  leib^  erto^ 
fet  l^at,  önb  jmerbar  mit  feiner  fürbit 
für  bem  35ater  oertrit ") :  S5nb  gu  "on^ 
ferm  ewigen  £6nig,  ber  unö  mit  feine 
»ort  ün  ©eijl  regiert  ^),  onb  be^  ber 
erworbenen  erlofung  f^ü^et  nnb  er* 
l^elt* 

a)  Hebr.  1.     5)  Psal.  110.   Hebr.  7.   Eom.  8. 
c)  Psa.  2.   Luc.  1.     fZ)  Pvom.  5.   Matt.  28. . 


men  abnegant  tmicuin  Servatorem 
Jesum.  Necesse  est  enim,  aut  Je- 
sum  non  esse  perfectum  Servatorem, 
aut  qui  eum  Servatorem  vera  fide 
amplectuntur,  eos  omnia  in  ipso 
possidere,  quae  ad  salutem  requi- 
runtur. 


XXXT. 

Quare  appellatur  Cheistus,  lioc 
est^  unctusf 

Quod  a  Patre  ordinatus,  et  Spi- 
ritu  Sancto  unctus,  sit  summus  Pro- 
plieta  ac  Doctor,  qui  nobis  arcanum 
consilium  et  omnem  voluntatem 
Patris  de  redemptione  nostri  pate- 
fecit  ;  et  summus  Pontifex,  qui  nos 
unico  sacrificio  sui  corporis  redemit, 
assidueque  pro  nobis  apud  Patrem 
intercedit;  et  Rex,  qui  nos  suo 
verbo  et  Spiritu  gubernat,  et  par- 
tam  nobis  salutem  tuetur  ac  cou- 
servat. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


165 


^etlanb  S^fum,  ob  fte  ft(^  fein  gteid) 
rühmen»  2)enn  entiDeber  Sefu^  nic^t 
ein  üotrtommener  ^eilanb  fein  mu^, 
ober  bie  biefen  .^eitanb  mit  n^a^^rem 
©lankn  annel;men,  müjfen  StHeö  in 
3^m  ^aben,  baö  ju  il^rer  ©eliqleit  üon=* 
nöt^en  iji* 


deny  tlie  only  Saviour  Jesus.  For 
eitlier  Jesus  is  not  a  complete 
Saviour,  or  they  who  by  true  faith 
receive  this  Savioui-,  must  have  in 
Him  all  that  is  necessary  to  their 
salvation. 


Batum  t|^  (Sr  S^rij^ug,  baö  i|!, 
ein  ©efalbter  genannt  ? 

5(ntn)ort* 
SBeil  dx  üon  ®ott  bent  S5ater  ux^ 
otbnet,  nnb  mit  bem  ^eiligen  @eifte 
gefalbet  x%  ju  unferm  obet|!en  ^rop^e^ 
ten  unb  Setter,  ber  un^  ben  ^^eimli^en 
diat^  unb  2Öitten  ©otte^  üon  unferer 
©rlöfung  uottfommen  offenbaret;  nnb 
IVL  unferm  einigen  ipo^en^jriefter,  ber 
unö  mit  bem  einigen  Opfer  feinet  Cei^ 
be^  ertöfet  ^at,  unb  immerbar  mit  fei^* 
ner  Fürbitte  üor  bem  SSater  öertritt ; 
unb  in  unferm  ewigen  Äonig,  ber  un^ 
mit  feinem  SCßort  unb  ®eift  regiert, 
imb  bei  ber  ernjorbenen  Sriöfung 
fd)üöet  unb  erhält* 


QuilSTION  31. 

Why  is  He  called  Cheist,  that  is. 
Anointed  f 

Answee. 
Because  He  is  ordained  of  God 
the  Father,  and  anointed  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  to  be  our  chief  Prophet 
and  Teacher,  who  fully  reveals  to 
us  the  secret  counsel  and  will  of 
God  concerning  our  redemption; 
and  our  only  High  Priest,  who 
by  the  one  sacrifice  of  His  body 
has  redeemed  us,  and  ever  liveth 
to  make  intercession  for  us  with 
the  Father ;  and  our  eternal  King, 
who  governs  us  by  His  word  and 
Spirit,  and  defends  and  preserves 
us  in  the  redemption  obtained  for  us. 


166 


CATECHISMUS. 


SBarumt  luirjl  abtx  bu  ein  St;ti|t 
genent  ? 

2)a§  i(^  but(^  ben  gtauBen  ein  glieb 
S^rijii'')  önb  alfo  [einer  falhmg  t^eit^ 
l^apg  Un*),  auff  ba§  au(^  id)  feinen 
^amtn  Belenne"),  mi(^  jm  ju  einem 
leBenbigen  bancfopjfer  barfteüe'^),  onb 
mit  freiem  gewiffen  in  biefem  lekn 
juiber  bie  funbe  önb  ^enfet  ftreite,  nnb 
^er  naä)  in  etoigleit  mit  jm  ökr  alte 
(Steaturen  ^^erfdje* 

a)  Act.  11.1  loh.  2.     6)  Act.  2.  loel.  2.  Mar. 
8.     c)  Kom.  12.  Apoc.  5.     d)  Rom.  6.  Apoc.  1. 

Stag* 
SatumB  I)ei|l  et  ®ottc5  einge^orner 
(Son,  fo  bD(^  wit  au^  linber  ©otte^ 
fmb? 

5(nttt)ort* 
Darum  baf  S^rijln^  allein  ber  ewig 
naturlii^  ®on  ©otte^  ifl'"):  tuir  a^er 
ömB  feinet  ttjitle  auf  gnaben  ju  linbern 
©otteö  angenommen  fmb'')* 

o)  loh.  1.  Heb.  1.     i)  Rom.  8,  Ephes.  1. 

%xaQ. 
Sßarumt)  nennefht  jn  önfern  ^errn  ? 


XXXII. 

6*^^'  -ü^ro  ^i^  Christianus  aj^el- 
laris  ? 

Quod  per  fidem  memlbruni  sum 
Jesu  Christi,  et  unctionis  ipsius 
particeps,  ut  et  nomen  ejus  con- 
iitear,  meque  sistam  ipsi  vivam  gra- 
titudinis  hostiam,  et  in  hac  vita, 
contra  peccatum  et  Satanam,  libera 
et  bona  conscientia  pugnem,  et  post- 
ea  seternum  cum  Christo  regnum 
in  omnes  creaturas  teneam. 


XXXIII. 

Quam  ob  causam  Christus  voca- 
tur  Filius  Dei  uihgenitus,  cum  nos 
quoque  simus  filii  Dei  ? 


Quia  solus  Christus  est  coseter- 
nus  et  naturalis  seterni  Patris  Filius; 
nos  autem  propter  eum,  ex  gratia,  a 
Patre  adoptati  sumus. 

XXXIV. 

Qua  de  causa  o/pjpellas  eum  Do- 
minum NOSTEUM  ? 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


167 


2Barum  jDtrj^  aUx  bu  ein  S^tijl 
genannt  ? 

%ntrr>oxt. 

Seit  {$  burc^  ben  @tankn  ein 
®Iieb  S^rifti,  nnb  atfo  feiner  ©albung 
tl^eil^aftig  bin ;  auf  ba§  ana)  ic^  feinen 
Si^amen  belenne,  mid)  ^^m  ju  einem 
lebenbigen  3)an!opfer  barfteüe,  nnb 
mit  freiem  ©emiffen  in  biefem  Seben 
tuiber  bie  (Sünbe  nnb  ben  Teufel  ftreite, 
imb  l^ernac^  in  Smigleit  mit  S^nt  über 
aUt  Kreaturen  ^errf(J)e* 


Question  32. 

But  why  art  thou  called  a  Cliris- 
tian  f 

Answee. 

Because  by  faith  I  am  a  member 
of  Christ,  and  thus  a  partaker  of 
His  anointing ;  in  order  that  I  also 
may  confess  His  name;  may  pre- 
sent myself  a  living  sacrifice  of 
thankfulness  to  Him;  and  may 
with  free  conscience  fight  against 
sin  and  the  Devil  in  this  life,  and 
hereafter,  in  eternity,  reign  with 
Him  over  all  creatui'es. 


^rage  33* 
Sßarnm  ^eipt  Sr  ©otte^  cingc* 
borner  ®o^n,  fo  bod)  mir  auc^ 
Äinber  ©otte^  fmb  ? 

5(ntmort» 
X)arnm,  w»eit  S^rijlu^  allein   ber 
emige  natiirlid^e  (So^n  ©otte^  ift ;  toir 
aber  nm  feinetmiÜen  au^  ©naben  ju 
^inbcrn  ©otte^  angenommen  ftnb» 

grage  34» 
SBarum  nennefi  bu  3^n  unfern 
^crrn? 


Question  33. 
Why  is  He  called  God^s  only 
begotten  Son,  since  we  also  are  the 
children  of  God? 

Answer. 
Because  Christ  alone  is  the  eter- 
nal natural  Son  of  God ;  but  we 
are  children  of  God  by  adoption 
through  grace  for  His  sake. 

Question  34. 
Why  cdllest  thou  Him  our  Lord  \ 


168 


CATECHISMUS. 


!Da§  er  ünö  mit  Itib  öub  feel  öon 
ber  fünben,  ünb  au^  alUra  gemalt  be^ 
^teufel^,  ni^t  mit  gott  ober  fitkr,  fon^ 
ber  mit  feinem  t^en?ern  Slut,  jl)m  jum 
eigentl^umb  erlofet  onb  erlaufft  ^at^)^ 

a)  1  Pet.  1.  et  2.  1  Cor.  6. 

2ßa^  ^eift,  baf  er  empfattgen  ift  öon 
bem  ^eiligen  ®ei|!,  geboren  aujj  SO^iaria 
ber  3w^gftan?en? 

5tntn?ort» 
Dap  ber  emige  ®on  ©otte^,  ber 
luarer  ünb  ewiger  ©ott  ift'"")  önb  blei^ 
bet^),  mare  mcfc^Iid^e  natur,  anf  bem 
fleifc^  önb  Blut  ber  3ungfran?en  '^a^ 
tia"),  bur(^  mürcfung  be^  ^eiligen  @ei|!^ 
an  fi($  genomen  ^at^),  auff  bap  er  auc^ 
ber  tvare  famen  !l)auib0  fet)*)  feinen 
Wbern  in  allem  gleid)^),  aufgenom^ 
men  bie  fünbe^)» 

a)  loh.  1.  Eom.  1.  b)  Rom.  9.  Gal.  4. 
e)  lohan.  1.  d)  Matt.  1.  Luc.  1.  Ephes.  1. 
6)  Psal.  132.  Korn.  1.    /)  PhU.  2.     g)  Heb.  4. 

^rag  XXXVI. 

2Öaö  nu^  Belomeftu  au^  ber  ^eiligen         Quem  fructum percipis  ex  sancta 
cmpfengnuf  ünb  gel>urt  ß^rijii?  conceptione  et  nativitate  (JJiristi? 


Quia  corpus  et  animam  nostram 
a  peccatis,  non  auro  nee  argento, 
sed  pretioso  suo  sanguine  redemit, 
et  ab  omni  potestate  Diaboli  libe- 
ravit,  atque  ita  nos  sibi  proprios 
vindicavit. 

XXXY. 

Quid  credis  cum  dicis :  Concep- 

TUS     EST    PER     SpIEITUM    SaNCTUM, 
NATUS  EX  MaEIA  VIEGINE  ? 

Quod  ipse  Filius  Dei,  qui  est,  et 
permanet  verus  ac  ssternus  Deus, 
naturam  vere  liumanam  ex  carne  et 
sanguine  virginis  Marias,  operatione 
S]3iritus  Saneti  assumpsit;  ut  simul 
sit  verum  semen  Davidis,  fratribus 
suis  per  omnia  similis,  excepto  pec- 
cato. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


169 


SBetl  dx  un0  mit  Seit  unb  ©eete  öon 
ber  (Sunbe,  unb  auö  alter  ©ematt  be^ 
^eufel^,  nid)t  mit  ©olb  cber  (SilBet, 
fonbern  mit  feinem  t^euren  33lut,  3f)tn 


Answee. 

Because,  not  witli  silver  or  gold, 

but  witli  His  precious  blood,  He 

has  redeemed   and  purchased  us, 

body  and  soul,  from  sin  and  from 


jum  (gigent:^um  erlöfet  unb  erlaufet  ^at*     aU  the  power  of  the  Devü,  to  be 

His  own. 


^rage  35* 
fBa^  ^ei§t,  ba§  (Sr  em^jfangen  ij^ 
»on  bem  l^eitigen  ©eijie,  ge^ 
fcorenau^SO^iaria  ber^w^Sftau? 

5(ntn?ort* 
T)a^  ber  ewige  ©o^n  ©otte^,  ber 
wahrer  unb  ewiger  @ott  ift  imb  Hei6et, 
ttja'^re  menf(^Ii(^e  9*latur  auö  bem 
^eif(i)  unb  S3Iut  ber  Jungfrau  5!Jiaria, 
bur(^  SÖirlung  beö  ^eiligen  ©eijleö,  an 
f{(^  genommen  !^at;auf  baf  (Er  auä)  ber 
wa'^re  ©ame  ^iDaoibö  fei,  feinen  23rü^ 
bern  in  ^Item  glei(^,  aufgenommen  bie 
©ünbe* 


Question  35. 
What  is  themeani7igof:  Conceiv- 
ed BT  THE  Holy  Ghost,  bokn  of 

THE  ViEGIN  MaEY  ? 

Answee. 
That  the  eternal  Son  of  God, 
who  is  and  continues  true  and 
eternal  God,  took  upon  Him  the 
very  nature  of  man,  of  the  flesh  and 
blood  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  by  the 
operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  so 
that  He  also  might  be  the  tiTie 
seed  of  David,  like  unto  His  breth- 
ren in  all  things,  sin  excepted. 


I^ragc  3  6.  Question  36. 

2Ba^  für  ?lu|en  fcelommj!  bu  au^        What    henefit  dost  thou  receive 

ber  ^^eiligen  (Smpfdngnif  unb  ©e^^urt  from  the  holy  conception  and  lirth 

e^rifti?  of  Christ? 
22 


170 


CATECHISMUS. 


!Da§  cr  öttfet  mittler  x^,  on  mit  \tu 
net  önf^ulb  ünb  öollommenen  ^eiligleit 
meine  fnnbe,  barin  \ä)  bin  empfangen, 
für  ©otteö  angefi^t  Wotätr). 

a)  Psal.  32.    1  Cor.  1. 

^rag* 
2ßa^  üerfte^ef^u  bur(^  ba5  mortlein 
gelitten? 

StntJDort* 
3)ap  er  an  leib  önb  feel,  bic  gan|c 
jeit  feinet  lebend  anff  erben,  fonbertic^ 
aber  am  enbe  beffetben,  ben  jorn  @otteö 
wiber  bie  fünbe  beö  ganzen  menf(^Iid)en 
gef^lec^tö  getragen  ^af),  auff  ba§  er 
mit  feinem  leiben,  atö  mit  bem  einigen 
(Sbnopffer^),  önfer  leib  onb  feel  oon 
ber  emigen  üerbamnnf  erlofcte,  ün  önö 
©otteö  gnabe,  gerei^tigleit  ün  ewigem 
leben  erwürbe* 

a)  1  Pet.  2.    Esai.  53.     l)  1  loh.  2,  et  4. 
Korn.  3. 

^rag. 
SOßarumb  '^at  er  ünber  bem  9^i(^ter 
^ontio  ^ilato  gelitten? 

Slntwort» 
5lu[f  ba§  er  önf(^ulbig  onbcr  bem 


Qiiod  is  noster  sit  Mediator,  et 
sua  innocentia,  ac  perfecta  sancti- 
tate,  mea  peccata,  in  quibus  con- 
ceptus  sum,  tegat,  ne  in  conspectum 
Dei  veniant. 


XXXVII. 

Quid  credis  cum  dicis 


Passus 


EST? 


Eum  toto  quidem  vitse  suae  tem- 
pore, quo  in  terris  egit,  praecipue 
vero  in  ejus  extremo,  iram  Dei  ad- 
versus  peccatum  universi  generis 
humani  corpore  et  anima  susti- 
nuisse,  ut  sua  passione,  tauquam 
unico  sacrificio  propitiatorio,  corpus 
et  animam  nostram  ab  seterna  dam- 
natione  liberaret,  et  nobis  gratiam 
Dei,  justitiam  et  vitam  setemam 
acquireret. 

xxxvm. 

Quid  causce  fuit^  cu/r  sub  judice 
Vgkyio  Vtlkto  pateretur  ? 

Ut  innocens  coram  judice  politico 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


171 


2)a§  Sr  unfer  2}JittIer  ifi,  unb  mit 
fetner  llnf(^ulb  unb  üotllommenen  ipet^ 
lig!eit  meine  ©ünbe,  barin  id)  Bin 
empfangen,  oor  ©otteö  Stngefii^t 
Bebedet, 

%xaQt  37. 
2Öaö  üerjle^j!  bu  unter  bem  SBört^ 
lein:  ©elitten? 

5(ntmort* 
ÜDaf  dx  an  Seifc  unb  ©eete  bie 
ganje  B^it  feinet  gebend  auf  (Srben, 
fonberticj)  akr  am  (Snbe  t)eJTeIt)en,  ben 
Born  ©otteö  »iber  bie  ®ünbe  be^  gan^ 
^en  menfcl)Ii(^en  ®efd)Ied)tö  getragen 
l^at,  auf  bap  dx  mit  feinem  Seiben,  at^ 
mit  bem  einigen  (Sii^nopfer,  imfern 
geiB  unb  ®eete  öon  ber  ewigen  35er^ 
bammni^  erlofete,  unb  un^  ©otteö 
@nabe,  ©erec^tigleit  unb  emige^  ^tbtxi 
txvouxU* 


Answee. 
That  He  is  our  Mediator,  and 
witli  His  innocence  and  perfect 
holiness  covers,  in  the  sight  of 
God,  my  sin  wherein  I  was  con- 
ceived. 

Question  37. 
What  dost  thou  understand  by 
tJieword:  Suffeeed? 

Answee. 
That  all  the  time  He  lived  on 
earth,  but  especially  at  the  end  of 
His  life,  He  bore,  in  body  and  soul, 
the  wrath  of  God  against  the  sin 
of  the  whole  human  race ;  in  order 
that  by  His  passion,  as  the  only 
atoning  sacrifice.  He  might  redeem 
our  body  and  soul  from  everlasting 
damnation,  and  obtain  for  us  the 
grace  of  God,  righteousness  and 
eternal  life. 


forage  3  8.  Question  38. 

SBarum  ^at  dx  unter  bem  Ülic^ter  WTiy  did  He  suffer  under  Pon- 

^ontio  ^ilato  gelitten  ?  tius  Pilate,  as  judge  f 

5i(nttt)ort*  Answee. 

S(uf  bap  dx  unf(^ulbig  unter  bem  That  He,  being  innocent,  might 


1^2 


CATECHIS3HUS. 


»eMd)en   Slic^ter   öetbamt   würbe  ^),     damnatus,  nos  a  severo  Dei  judicio, 
»nb  un^  bamit  »on  betn  ftrengen  Ott^eil     quod  omnes  manebat,  eximeret. 
©otte0,  ba^  okr  m^  ge^en  folte,  er=^ 
lebiget^)* 


a)  Luc.  23.    loh.  19. 
2  Cor.  5.   Gal.  3. 


5)  Psal.  69.    Esai.  53. 


3ft  Co  etiua^  me^r,  ba§  er  ijl:  ge^ 
creu^tget  morben,  benn  fo  er  eitte^  an^ 
bern  tobt^  geftorkn  tDere  ? 

5(ntn?ort* 
3ci,  2)cnn  barburd)  "bin  ic^  gemif, 
ba^  er  bte  öermalebei^ung  bie  auff  mir 
läge,  auff  fi(^  gelaben  ^aBe*)»  3)ie^ 
njeit  ber  tob  be^  (^reu^e^  öon  ®ott  öer^ 
flud)t  iuar'')* 

d)  Galat.  8.    &)  Deut.  21.   Galat.  3. 

?^tag> 
SÖarutnB  ^at  S^rijhi^  ben  tob  ntuf* 
fen  leiben  ? 

5(nttt)ort* 

CDarumB,  bap  üon  wegen  ber  gere(^^ 
tigleit  önb  warl^eit ")  ®otte^,  ni(i)t  an^ 
berjt  fur  onfere  fünben  mo^te  bejalet 
werben,  benn  huxö)  ben  tobt  be^  @on^ 
©otteö''). 

a)  Gen.  2.     h)  Heb.  2. 


XXXIX. 

JEstne  "oero  quiddam  am/plius^ 
quod  APFixxjs  EST  CEUCi,  quam  si 
alio  genere  mortis  affectus  esset  f 

Sane  amplius.  Ex  Lac  enim  re 
sum  cert  US,  eum  maledictionem, 
quae  milii  incumbebat,  in  se  rece- 
pisse ;  nam  mors  crucis  a  Deo  erat 
maledicta. 


XL. 

Cur  necesse  fuit,  ut  CTiristus  ad 
MOETEM  usque  se  demitteret  ? 

Propterea,  quod  justitiae  et  veri- 
tati  Dei  nullo  alio  pacto  pro  nostris 
peccatis  potuit  satisfieri,  quam  ipsa 
morte  Filii  Dei. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


173 


iDettUc^en  ^xd)kx  üerbaminct  mürbe, 
uttb  unö  bamtt  »on  bent  ftrengen  Ux^ 
t^dl  ©otte^,  baö  ükr  un^  ergel^en 
foKtc,  crlebigte* 


be  condemned  by  the  temporal 
judge,  and  thereby  deliver  us  from 
the  severe  judgment  of  God  to 
which  we  were  exposed. 


gragc  39. 
^\t  eö  etiraö  me^r,  baf  (Sr  tjl  ge*= 
freu  jig  et  tuorbeit,  benn  fo  (Sr  etneö 
anbetn  ilobeö  gejlorBen  »arc  ? 

Stnttüort* 
3a:  benn  babur^  t»in  t(I)  gemif, 
baf  (Sr  bie  S5ermalebelung,  bie  auf  mir 
kg,  auf  fic^  gelaben  ^abi ;  biemeil  ber 
£ob  beö  Äreujeö  öon  ®ott  »erflu^t 
juar* 


QuESTiois-  39. 
Js  the?'e  anything  rnore  in  His 
liaving  heen  ckucified,  tJia7i  if  He 
had  died  some  other  death  ? 

Answee. 
Yes:  for  thereby  I  am  assured 
that  He  took  on  Himself  the  curse 
which  lay  upon  me;  because  the 
death  of  the  cross  was  accursed  of 
God. 


^rage  40> 
Sßarum  ^at  (E(;riftu^  ben  ^ob  ntiif^ 
fen  leiben  ? 

5(ntn)ort* 
^arunt,  njeit  megen  ber  (55erec^tig== 
feit  unb  SBa'^r^^cit  ©otte^  ni(^t  anber^ 
fiir  unfere  ©ünben  ntö^te  bejal;let 
w?erben,  benn  burc^  ben  3;ob  beö  ©o^ne^ 
©otteö* 


QuESTioisr  40. 
Why  was  it  necessary  for  Christ 

to  suffer  DEATH  ? 

AlfSWEE. 

Because,  by  reason  of  the  justice 
and  truth  of  God,  satisfaction  for 
our  sins  could  be  made  no  other- 
wise than  by  the  death  of  the  Son 
of  God. 


114: 


CATECHISÄIUS. 


SßarumB  tfi  er  ItQxaUn  njorben  ? 

5(ntmort* 
IDamtt  ju  Isejeugen,  bap  er  »ar^aff=* 
tig  gejlorBen  fei5>*)* 

a)  Mat.  27.  Luc.  23.   loh.  19.   Act.  13. 

SÖetI  benn  ß^rtj^u^  fur  onö  gejlorBen 
ift,  tt)te  lompt^  baf  »ir  au^  j^erkn 
muJTen  ? 

5(ntn)ort* 

S5ttfer  tob  ij!  nit  ein  bejalung  fur 
»nfere  fünb  i  fonber  nur  ein  at)|lerBüg 
ber  fünben,  onb  eingang  jum  emigen 

o)  loh.  5.   PhU.  1.   Rom.  7. 

^rag. 

2ßa^  "belommen  njir  mel;r  für  nu§ 
au§  bem  opffer  ünb  tobt  (^^rijli  am 
ereu^  ? 

Stntwort* 

2)a§  bur(^  feine  Irafft  önfer  atter 
menfd)  mit  )m  gecrcu^iget,  getobtet  ün 
Begraben  wirb"*),  auff  bap  bie  bofen 
lüjte  be^  fleif^eö  ni(^t  me^r  in  ön^  re^* 
gieren^),  fonber  bap  wir  »nö  felbfl  i^m 
jur  bantffagung  auffopffern")* 

o)  Korn.  6.  Coloss.  2.   &)  Rom.  6.   c)  Rom.  12. 


XLI. 

Quare  etiam  sepultus  est  f 

Ut  eo  testatum  faceret,  se  vere 
mortumn  esse. 

XLII. 

At  cum  Christus  pro  nohis  mor- 
tem oppetier'it,  cur  nohis  quoque  est 
mo7'iendum  f 

Mors  nostra  non  est  pro  peccatis 
nostris  satisfactio,  sed  peccati  abo- 
litio,  et  transitus  in  vitam  seter- 
nam. 

XLIII. 

Quid prceterea  cwpimus  commodi 
ex  sacrificio  et  vnorte  Christi  in 
cruce  f 

Quod  virtute  ejus  mortis  vetus 
noster  homo  una  cum  eo  crucifigitur, 
interimitur,  ac  sepelitur,  ne  pravaB 
cupiditates  et  desideria  carnis  post- 
liac  in  nobis  regnent,  sed  nos  ipsos 
ei  hostiam  gratitudiuis  offeramus. 


THE  HEroELBERG  CATECHISM. 


1*75 


forage  41. 
SBarum  ij^Sr  begraben  tDotben ? 

^aftig  geflorktt  fei* 


Question  41. 

TFÄy  ^^^05.9  ITe  BUEEED  ? 

Answee. 
To  show  thereby  that  He  was 
really  dead. 


forage  42* 
SBetl  bcnn  ^I)rijhtö  für  unö  gcf!or^ 
ten  ij^,  tt5te  lommt  e^,  ba§  tt)it  au(^ 
jlerkn  muffen  ? 

5(ntiUDtt* 
Unfer  ^ob  tjl  ni^t  eine  SSe^a'^tung 
für  nnfere  ©ünbe,  fonbern  nur  eine 
Stbf!erBung  ber  ©ünben,  unb  (Eingang 
jum  emigen  ^tbtn* 


Question  42. 
StTice  then  Ohrist  died  for  us, 
why  must  we  also  die  f 

Answee. 
Our  death  is  not  a  satisfaction 
for  our  sin,  but  only  a  dying  to 
sins     and    entering    into    eternal 
life. 


^^rage  43* 

Sßaö  Belommen  tr»ir  mef)r  für  S^u^en 
au^  bent  Opfer  unb  3^ob  S^rifti  am 
treus? 

5(ntwort* 

!Daf  bur^  feine  ^raft  xmfer  alter 
SJZenfc^  mit  3^m  gelreujiget,  getöbtet 
unb  Begraben  n>irb,  auf  baf  bie  Böfen 
güftc  bcö  ^eifc^e^  nic^t  me'^r  in  vM 
regieren,  fonbern  \^^^  wir  une  felbj^ 
:5^m  jur  3^anlfagung  aufo))fern* 


Question  43. 

What  further  heneflt  do  we  receive 
from  the  sacrifice  and  death  of 
Christ  on  the  cross  ? 
Answee. 

That  by  His  power  our  old  man 
is  with  Him  crucified,  slain  and 
buried ;  that  so  the  evil  lusts  of  the 
flesh  may  no  more  reign  in  us,  but 
that  we  may  offer  ourselves  unto 
Him  a  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving. 


176 


CATECHISMUS. 


SÖatufn  folget  abgejiiege  ju  ber 
^cHe? 

5tntmort*    . 

2)ap  t(^  in  meinett  pc^jl:en  anfe^^ 
tunge  öerfict)ert  fe^,  mein  ^d^fü  &)n^ 
jiuö  ^al)e  mi(^  butc^  feine  onan^fpre(i)^ 
lii^e  ana,%  f($mer^en  önb  fd)rerfen,  bie 
er  au(^  an  feinet  feele,  am  Steul  önb 
3UU0T  erlitten,  oon  ber  ^eüifd)en  angj^ 
önb  pein  erlofet^)* 

a)  Esai.  53.  Mat.  27. 

^rag* 

2ßa^  nu^et  onö  bie  Stufferfte'^ung 
e^rifti? 

5(ntn?ort* 

ßrftlic^  ^at  er  burc^  feine  5(nffer^ 
jle^ng  ben  tob  okrtonnben,  ba^  er  ünö 
ber  gerec^tigleit,  bie  er  ön^  bur(^  feinen 
tobt  ern?or^en  ^at,  fonbte  t^eil^ajftig 
ma^tn")*  3wm  anbern  werben  auc^ 
wir  te^nnber  burd)  feine  frap  ertoecfet 
^n  einem  netoen  leben  ^)*  3um  brit^ 
ten  if^  ön^  bie  5(nffer|^e^ung  S^rij^i  ein 
genjijTeö  pfanb  ünferer  feiigen  auffer== 
WungO* 

a)  1  Cor.  15.  Rom.  4.  1  Pet.  1.  l)  Rom.  6. 
Coloss.  3.   Ephes.  2.     c)  1  Cor.  15.   Rom.  8. 


XLiy. 

Cur  additur :  DESCE]n)iT  ad  ln"- 

FEENA  ? 

Ut  in  sTimmis  doloribus  et  gra- 
vissimis  tentationibus,  me  consola- 
tione  hac  sustentem,  quod  Dominus 
mens  Jesus  Ciiristus  ineuarrabilibus 
animi  sui  angustiis,  cruciatibus,  et 
terroribus,  in  quos  cum  antea,  tum 
maxime  in  cruce  pendens,  fuerat 
demersus,  me  ab  angustiis  et  cru- 
ciatibus  inferni  liberavit. 

XLV. 

Quid  nobis  prodest  eesueeectio 
Christi  f 

Primum,  sua  resurrectione  mor- 
tem devicit,  ut  nos  posset  ejus  jus- 
titiae,  quam  nobis  sua  morte  pepe- 
rerat,  participes  facere.  Deinde, 
nos  jam  quoque  ejus  potentia  ad 
novam  vitam  excitamur.  Postre- 
mo,  resurrectio  capitis  nostri  Cliris- 
ti  nobis  gloriosae  resurrectionis 
nostrae  pignus  est. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


Ill 


SBarum  folget:  ^tna^gefa^rcn 
in  ha^  ^obtenrei(^? 
5tntwort* 

1)a^  la)  in  tneiiten  l^ö^ften  5(nfc(^=' 
tuttgen  üeTftd)ert  fei,  mein  ^ert  S^ri^ 
flu^  ^abe  mid)  burd)  feine  unau0fpred)*= 
lid)e  Slngfl:,  ©(^merjcn  nnb  (Bä^xcdtn, 
bie  @r  aud)  an  feiner  (Seele  am  Ären^ 
unb  jnODt  erlitten,  öon  ber  t;öttif(^en 
Stngft  nnb  ^ein  erlöfet» 


QuESTio]sr  44. 
Why  is  it  added:  He  descended 

rNTO  HADES  ? 

AlTSWEE. 

Tliat  in  my  greatest  temptations 
I  may  be  assured  tliat  Christ,  my 
Lord,  by  His  inexpressible  anguish, 
pains,  and  terrors  wlaicli  He  suffer- 
ed in  His  soul  on  the  cross  and  be- 
fore, has  redeemed  me  from  the 
anguish  and  torment  of  hell. 


IJrage  45» 

SÖaönü^et  un^  bie  5lnfer|lel)ung 
e^rijli? 

Stntwort* 

Srftlid)  ^at  @r  bnr(^  feine  5(nfer^ 
jle'^nng  ben  %q'^  iibern?nnben,  ba§  Sr 
un^  ber  ®ere^tig!eit,  bie  ßr  nnö  bnr(^ 
feinen  ^Tob  erworBen  ^at,  lönnte  t^eit== 
I^aftig  ma^en*  ^vm  5(nbern  n^erben 
auc^  xo'xx  ie^t  bnr(^  feine  Äraft  ernjedet 
ju  einem  nenen  ßekn*  3um  X)rittcn 
ij^  nn^  bie  Stnferj^e'^nng  S(;rijli  ein  ge^ 
»ijfeö  ^fanb  unfcrer  fetigen  5(nfer=* 
j^e^nng. 


Question  45. 
What  henefit  do  we  receive  from 

the  EESUKEECTION  of  ChHst  f 

Answer. 
First,  by  His  resurrection  He 
has  overcome  death,  that  He  might 
make  us  partakers  of  the  righteous- 
ness which  by  His  death  He  has 
obtained  for  us.  Secondly,  we  also 
are  now  by  His  power  raised  up 
to  a  new  life.  Thirdly,  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ  is  to  us  a  sure 
pledge  of  our  blessed  resurrection. 


23 


1T8 


CATECmSMUS. 


Sßic  öcrfte^ejlu  bap  er  ift  gen  ^m^ 
tnel  gefaren  ? 

ÜDaf  (S^rijlu^  fur  ben  äugen  feiner 
Sunger,  ift  oon  ber  erbe  aujfge^ate  gen 
l)mmtV)f  önb  onö  ju  gut  bafelbfl  ift''), 
biö  bap  er  miberlompt  ju  richten  bie 
lebenbigen  ünb  bie  tobten*')* 

a)  Act.  1,  Mat.  28.  Mar.  16.  Luc.  24, 
l)  Hebr.  4.  7.  et  9.  Korn.  8.  Ephes.  4.  Ooloss.  3. 
e)  Act.  1.  Mat.  24. 

S^rag. 
Sf^  benn  (S^riftu^  nit  fce^  ön^  Mf 
an^  enbe  ber  n^elt,  n>ie  er  önö  üer^eijfen 

5(nttDort* 

Sl^rij^u^  i|^  marer  Wtn\ä)  ön  marer 
©Ott :  ^aä)  feiner  menf(J)Iid)en  natur, 
ijt  er  Je^unber  nicj)t  aujf  erben  ^)  :  akr 
na^  feiner  ©ott^eit,  SO^iaieftet,  genab 
önb  ©eift,  toei(i)t  er  nimer  oon  on^'')* 

a)  Mat.  28.  b)  Mat.  26.  loh.  16.  et  17. 
Act.  3.    c)  loh.  14.  et  16.   Mat.  28.   Ephes.  4. 


XLVI. 

Quomodo  intelligis  ill/ud:  Ascen- 

DIT  AD  CCELOS  ? 

Quod  aspicientibus  discipulis 
Cliiistus  de  terra  in  ccelum  sub- 
latus  est,  atque  etiamnum  nostra 
causa  ibidem  est,  et  erit,  donec  re- 
deat  ad  judicandum.  vivos  et  mor- 
tuos. 


XLVII. 

A71  ergo  Christus  non  est  ndbis- 
cum  usque  ad  finem  mündig  quem- 

admodum  promisit  f 

* 

Christus  est  verus  Dens  et  verus 
lionio,  itaque  secundum  naturam 
liumanam,  jam  non  est  in  terra;  at 
secundum  divinitatem  suam,  majes- 
tatem,  gratiam  et  Spiritum,  nullo 
unquam  tempore  a  nobis  abest. 


Srag.  XLVIII. 

SÖerben  aber  mit  ber  xotx^  bie  jwo         An  vero  isto  pacto  dum  naturoe 

naturen  in  S^rij^o  nit  oon  einanber  ge^  in  Christo  non  divelluntm\  si  non 

trennet,  fo  bie  menfc^eit  nic^t  oberal  ift,  sit  natura  humana^  ubicunque  est 

ba  bie  ®ottt;eit  ift?  divina  f 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


1T9 


grage  46. 
äßie  oerjle^ft  bu,  ba^  ^x  i|l  gen 
^immel  gefahren? 

X»af  S^rijiuö  oot  ben  5(ugen  feiner 
Sünger  i|i  »on  ber  ©rbe  aufge^ol)en 
gen  ^immel,  unb  un^  ju  gnt  bafelbjl 
ijt,  t)tö  baf  @r  luieberlommt  ju  rii^ten 
bie  Ce^enbigen  unb  bte  lobten* 


Question  46. 

How  dost  thou  understand  the 
words:  He  ascended  into  Heaven? 
Answer. 

That  Christ,  in  sight  of  His  dis- 
ciples, was  taken  up  from  the  earth 
into  heaven;  and  in  our  behalf 
there  continues,  until  He  shall 
come  again  to  judge  the  living  and 
the  dead. 


grage  47. 

Sft  benn  (S^tijluö  nt(^t  tet  un^  W 
an  ba^  @nbe  ber  Sßelt,  mie  Sr  un^ 
ücr^eif  en  ^at  ? 

5lntwort* 

(S^rtjluö  if^  wahrer  Wtn\ä)  unb  toap 
rer  ®ott :  na^  feiner  ntenfd)Ud)en  ^la^ 
tur  i|^  (Er  je^t  ni^t  auf  (Srben,  abtx 
na6)  feiner  ©ott^eit,  5!)?aie|lät,  ®nabe 
unb  ®ei|l  wet(^t  Sr  nimmer  öon  un^* 


Question  47. 

Ts  not  then  Christ  with  us  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world^  as  He  has 
promised  ? 

Answee. 

Christ  is  true  Man  and  true  God : 
according  to  His  human  nature,  He 
is  now  not  upon  earth ;  but  accord- 
ing to  His  Godhead,  majesty,  grace 
and  Spiiit,  He  is  at  no  time  absent 
from  us. 


^rage  48. 
Sterben  aBer  auf  biefe  Sßeife  bie 
jwei  ^^laturen  in  S^rifto  nic^t  oon  ein^ 
anber  getrennt,  fo  bie  5!}ienf(^^eit  ni(^t 
ukrattij!,  babie^ott^eitijl? 


Question  48. 
But  are  not^  in  this  way,  the  two 
natures  in  Christ  separated  from 
one  another,  if  the  Manhood  he  not 
wherever  the  Godhead  is  ? 


180 


CATECHISMUS. 


Wt  ntd)ten:  3)enn  mil  bie  ©ott^ 
l^ett  OttbegTeifU(^  onb  atlent(;alben  gc^en^^ 
xotxiiQ  ift ') :  fo  mup  folgen,  ba^  [ic 
wol  auffer()alb  Jret  angenommenen 
menf<^l;eit,  onb  benno(^  nic^tö  befto  m^ 
ntger  au<^  in  bcrfelben  t|^,  onb  ^jerfon^ 
li(^  mit  IX  oeteiniget  Heibt^)* 

a)  Act.  7.  lere.  23.  i)  Ooloss.  2.  lob.  3.  et 
11.  Mat.  28. 

%xaQ. 
2ßaö   nü|et  on^   bie   ^immelfart 
e^rijli? 

Stntwort* 
(?rftli(^,  baf  er  im  ^immet  für  bem 
angeft(i)t  feinet  3}aterö,  onfer  fürfpre^ 
^er  ift^)*  3um  anbern,  bap  mx  m^ 
[er  fleifc^  im  I)imet  jn  einem  fi(^ern 
^fanb  ^al)ett,  ba^  er  alö  baö  ^aupt,  önö 
feine  glieber  an(^  jn  fid)  merbe  ^inanff 
ncmen*")*  B^wt  brüten,  ba§  er  onö 
feinen  ©eijl:  jum  gcgenpfvinbt  f)txah 
fcnbet''),  bnrc^  melc^e^  Irafft  wir  fnc^en 
roa^  brokn  ift,  ba  Sl)ri|^nö  ift,  fi^enb 
IM  ber  rechten  ©otteö,  onb  ni(^t  ba^ 
auff  erben  ij^*^)* 

a)  1  loh.  2.  Rom.  8.  l)  loh.  14.  et  20. 
Ephes.  2.  c)  loh.  14.  Act.  2.  2  Cor.  1.  et  5. 
d)  Oolosa.  3.  Phil.  3. 


Minime :  nam  cum  diviDÜas 
compreliendi  non  queat,  et  omni 
loco  praesens  sit,  necessario  conse- 
quitur,  esse  earn  quidem  extra  na- 
turam  humanam,  quam  assumpsit, 
sed  niliilominus  tamen  esse  in 
eadem,  eique  personaliter  unitam 
permanere. 

XLIX. 

Quem  fructuTYi  noMs  adfert  as- 
censio  Christi  in  coßlum  ? 


Primum,  quod  in  coelo  apud  Pa^ 
trem  pro  nobis  intercedit.  Deinde, 
quod  carnem  nostram  in  coelo  lia- 
bemus,  ut  eo  tanquam  certo  pig- 
nore  confirmemur,  fore,  ut  ipse,  qui 
caput  nostrum  est,  nos  sua  membra 
ad  se  extollat.  Tertio,  quod  nobis 
suum  Spiritum  mutui  pignoris  loco 
mittit,  cujus  efficacia,  non  terrena, 
sed  superna  quserimus,  ubi  ipse  est 
ad  dexteram  Dei  sedens. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


181 


Antwort. 
SJiit  nickten ;  benn  weit  bte  ©ottl^ctt 
un'6cgreifli(^  unb  aKent^alkn  gegen^ 
märtig  ift  fo  mup  fotsett,  ba§  fie  too^l 
aupet^alb  i^rer  angenommenen  ^tn\6)^ 
l^eit,  unb  bennocE)  nic^tö  beftoweniger 
aucj)  in  berfelben  if!,  unb  perföntid)  mit 
il)x  oereiniget  bleibt* 


Answer. 
By  no  means ;  for  since  tlie  God- 
head is  incomprehensible  and 
everywhere  present,  it  must  follow 
that  it  is  indeed  beyond  the  bounds 
of  the  Manhood  which  it  has  as- 
sumed, but  is  yet  none  the  less  in 
the  same  also,  and  remains  per- 
sonally united  to  it. 


§rage  49. 
SBa^  nü|et  un^  bte  Himmelfahrt 
^tj^i? 

5(ntwort. 
Srftltc^,  baf  Sr  im  ^immel  öor  bem 
^IngefK^t  feinet  3}ater^  unfer  ^ux^ 
fpred)er  ift*  ßum  5lnbern,  ba§  wir 
unfer  ^eifd)  tm  ipimmel  ju  einem  fi(^ern 
^fanb  ^aben,  baf  Sr,  aU  ba^  ^aupt, 
un^  feine  ©lieber  au(^  s^  fxä)  werbe 
l^inauf  ncl)men*  ßmn  ^Dritten,  bajj 
dx  unö  feinen  ©et|l  jum  ©egenpfanb 
^erab  fenbet,  burd)  welc^eö  ^raft  wir 
fucjjen  rt^a^  brcben  ifl,  ba  (Il;rijlu^  ij!, 
ft^enb  jur  S^ed^ten  @otteö,  unb  tti(^t 
baö  auf  (Erben  ijl* 


Question  49. 
What  heiieflt  do  'we  receive  fro, >. 
Christ'' s  ascension  into  heaven  ? 

Answer. 
First,  that  He  is  our  Advocate 
in  the  presence  of  His  Father  in 
heaven.  Secondly,  that  we  have  our 
flesh  in  heaven,  as  a  sure  pledge, 
that  He,  as  the  Head,  will  also  take 
us,  His  members,  up  to  Himself. 
Thirdly,  that  He  sends  us  His 
Spirit,  as  an  earnest,  by  whose 
power  we  seek  those  things  which 
are  above,  where  Christ  sitteth  on 
the  right  hand  of  God,  and  not 
things  on  the  earth. 


182 


CATECHISMUS. 


SarumB  mttb  ^inju  gefegt,  baf  er 
fi^e  jut  teilten  ©otte^  ? 

5lttt«)ürt* 

"^a^  S^ttjbg  batumB  gen  l^tmcl  ge=* 

fatett  t|!,  baf  er  ft(^  bafetbjl  erjetge,  al^ 

ba^  ^aubt  feiner  (I^riftlid)en  !tr(^en  ^), 

huxä)  rod^i^  ber  35ater  dte^  regiert^)» 

a)  Eplies.  1.  Coloss.  1.    b)  Mat.  28.  loh.  5. 

2Ba0  nu|et  on^  biefe  ^errligleit  on^ 
fcr^  ^aupt^  (S^rtfli  ? 

Stntwort* 
(Srjlltc^  baf  er  burc^  feinen  ^eiligen 
©eijl,  in  onö  feine  glieber,  bie  ^imtifc^e 
gat)en  anfgeuft')*  3)arna(^,  baf  er 
üne  mit  feinem  gemalt  tuiber  aüe  feinb 
fc^ü^et  onb  er^elt^)* 

a)  Ephes.  4.     5)  Psal.  2.  loh.  10.  Ephes.  4. 

^rag> 
2ßae    trDJ!et    bi(^  bie  wiberlunp 
ß^rij^i  lu  rieten  bie  le^enbigen  önb  bie 
tobten  ? 

%ntvooxt* 
T)a^  tcf)  in  altem  truBfat  ünb  oer^ 
folgung  mit  auffgeri(^tem  ^aupt,  eBe 
beö  9lic^ter3  ber  fic^  juuor  bem  gerieft 


L. 

Cur  additur :  Sedet  ad  dexte- 

BAM  DeI? 

Quia  Ckristus  ideo  in  coelum 
ascendit,  ut  se  ibi  caput  suae  Eccle- 
sise  declararet,  per  quod  Pater  om- 
nia gubernat. 

LI. 

Quid  nobis  prodest  liceo  gloria 
nostri  capitis  Christi  f 

Primum,  quod  per  Spiritum  Sanc- 
tum in  nos,  sua  membra,  coelestia 
dona  effundit.  Deinde,  quod  nos 
sua  potentia  contra  omnes  liostes 
protegit  ac  defendit. 

LH. 

Quidte  Gonsolatur  reditus  Christi 

AD  JUDICANDUM  VIVOS   ET  MOETUOS  ? 


Quod  in  omnibus  miseriis  et  per- 
secutionibuSj  erecto  capite,  eundem 
illum  qui  se  prius  pro  me  judicio 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


183 


%xaQt  50* 
Sßatum  wirb  !^tnjugefe|t,  ha^  dx 
fi^e  ^ut  Siechten  ©otte^? 

'^a^  (S^rijbs  batum  gen  ^tmntel 
gefahren  tft,  ba§  (Sr  ficf)  bafetbj^  ergeige 
al^  baö  ipaupt  feiner  (?^TtfHtd)en  Äir^e, 
burc^  xoddjt^  ber  35ater  5(tteö  regiert* 

forage  51* 
SBa^  nü^et  xmö  biefe  ^errli(^!eit 
unfern  ^aupte^  S^rijli  ? 

5(ntö)ort* 
Srftlicj),  baf  (Sr  biircj)  feinen  'Zeitigen 
®eifl  in  un^,  feine  ©lieber,  bie  Bimnt^ 
lifd)en  OaBen  au^gief  t*  Darna^,  ba§ 
(Sr  un^  mit  feiner  ©emalt  tüiber  aUt 
??einbe  f^ü^et  unb  er^ätt* 


Question  50. 
Why  is  it  added :  A^d  sitteth  at 
the  eight  hajstd  of  god  ? 

Answee. 
Because  Christ  ascended  into 
heaven  for  this  end,  that  He  might 
there  appear  as  Head  of  His  Church, 
by  whom  the  Father  governs  all 
things. 

Question  51. 

What  henefit  do  ive  receive  front 
this  glory  of  our  Head,  Christ  f 

Answee. 
First,  that  by  His  Holy  Spirit 
He  sheds  forth  heavenly  gifts  in  us, 
His  members;  then,  that  by  His 
power  He  defends  and  preserves 
us  against  all  enemies. 


forage  52» 
Sßaö  tröfiet  biet)  bie  2ßieber!unft 
ß^rifti,  .ju  ri(^ten  bie  Sefcen^ 
bigen  unb  bie  S^obten? 

5lnttDort* 
!Daf  i(^  in  aller  ^rüBfat  unb  2Ser=* 
fotgung    mit    aufgerichtetem    ^aupt 
eBen  be^  ^x^itx^,  ber  ftc^  juöor  bem 


Question  52. 
What  comfort  is  it  to  thee,  that 

Christ  SHALL  COME  AGAIN  TO  JUDGE 

the  quick  and  the  dead  ? 

Answee. 
That  in  all  my  sorrows  and  per- 
secutions, with  uplifted  head,  I  look 
for  the  selfsame  One,  who  has  be- 


184 


CATECHISMÜS. 


®ottc0  für  Tnt(^  batgejlelt,  onb  atte 
i^ermalebeiung  öon  mir  l)'mma,  genomen 
{)at,  aup  bem  l;uM  gemertig  Bin''), 
baf^  er  alte  [eine  »nb  meine  feinbe,  in 
bie  ewige  ücrbamnnf  werjfe^):  mi^ 
akr  fam^jt  alten  an^ermelten  ju  }l;m 
in  bie  t;imlifd)e  freub  ijnb  l;errligleit 
neme*')* 

a)  Luc.  21.    Eom.  8.    Phil.  3.    Tit.  2.     &)  2 
Thess.  1.  1  Thess.  4.  Mat.  25.    c)  Mat.  25. 


Dei  statuit,  et  maledictionem  om- 
nem  a  me  abstulit,  judicem  e  coelo 
expecto,  qui  omnes  suos  et  neos 
liostes  in  aeternas  poenas  abjiciat; 
me  vero  cum  omnibus  electis  ad  se, 
in  coelestia  gaudia  et  sempiternam 
gloriam,  traducat. 


f&ün  dJott  hm  ^eiligen  (Bcift*     de  deo  spieitu  sancto. 


2Öa^  glauBflu  üom  ^eiligen  ®eift  ? 


LIII. 

Quid  credis  de  Spiritu  Sai^cto  ? 


5(ntn)ort* 
@rjlti(^  baf^  er  gteid)  ewiger  ®ott 
mit  bem  35ater  onb  bem  (Son  ift^* 
3nm  anbern,  baf^  er  aud)  mir  gcgeljen 
t|!^),  mid)  hvixä)  ein  waren  glauben, 
ßl)rifti  önb  aKer  feiner  wolt^aten  t§eil=' 
l^afftig  machet"),  mö^  troftet'O,  »nb 
be^  mir  bleibe  wirb  l)ip  in  ewigleit  ^)^ 

a)  Gen.  1.  Esai.  48.  1  Cor.  3.  1  Cor.  6. 
Act.  5.  b)  Matt.  28.  2  Cor.  1.  c)  Galat.'  8. 
1  Pet.  1.  1  Cor.  6.  d)  Act.  9.  e)  loh.  14. 
1  Pet.  4. 


Primum,  quod  sit  verus  et  co- 
seternus  Dens,  cum  aeterno  Patre  et 
Filio.  Deinde,  quod  mihi  quoque 
datus  sit,  ut  me  per  veram  fidem 
Christi  et  omnium  ejus  beneficiorum 
participem  faciat,  me  consoletur,  et 
mecum  in  seternum  maneat. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


185 


©etii^tc  ©otte^  für  mid)  bargefleltt 
imb  aUt  35ermalebetung  öon  mir  ^in^ 
weg  genommen  ^at,  au^  bem  ^immet 
gewärtig  Bin;  baf  dx  aUt  feine  unb 
meine  ^einbe  in  bie  ewige  35erbammnip 
werfe,  mid^  akr,  fammt  aüen  %um^ 
wäl;lten,  ju  fi(^  in  bie  ^^immlifc^e 
^reube  unb  ^errli(i)leit  nel;me* 


fore  offered  Himself  for  me  to  tlie 
judgment  of  God  and  removed 
from  me  all  curse,  to  come  again  as 
Judge  from  heaven ;  wlio  sliall  cast 
all  His  and  my  enemies  into  ever- 
lasting condemnation,  but  shall 
take  me,  with  all  His  chosen  ones, 
to  Himself,  into  heavenly  joy  and 
glory. 


25on  ^oit  hm  ^eiligen  Reifte,    of  god  the  holy  ghost. 


?^rage  53* 
2ßa0  glauBefl  bu  öom  !^  e i li g e n 
©eifte? 

Stntwort* 
@r|!Ii$,  baf  (Sr  gleid)  ewiger  Oott 
mit  bem  35ater  unb  bem  ®o^e  x% 
Bum  5tnbern,  ba§  (Sr  aucf)  mir  geget)en 
ift,  mic^  burd)  einen  warren  ©tauBen 
S^rifti  imb  alter  feiner  Sßo^It^aten 
t^eil^aftig  mac^t,  mic^  trojlet,  unb  l)ei 
mit  Heiben  wirb  W  in  Swigleit* 


QüiESTioN  53. 

What  dost  thou  believe  concerning/ 
the  Holt  Ghost  ? 

Answee. 
First,  that  He  is  co-eternal  God 
with  the  Father  and  the  Son.  Sec- 
ondly, that  He  is  also  given  unto 
me ;  makes  me  by  a  true  faith  par- 
taker of  Christ  and  all  His  benefits ; 
comforts  me ;  and  shall  abide  with 
me  forever. 


24 


186 


CATECHISMUS. 


2ßaö  glauBj^u  öon  ber  l^etligen  aH^ 
gemeinen  (I§ri|lU(^en  Ätrd)en  ? 

3(ntn)ort* 
I)af  ber  ©on  ©otte^^)  au^  bent 
ganzen  menfc^ti(i)en  gefc^lecj)t^),  j^^m 
ein  aupermelte  gemein  pxm  emigen 
leBen''),  bur(^  [ein  (^eifl  ünb  juott^) 
in  einigleit  be^  maren  gtmikn^  ^),  üon 
anBegin  ber  vodt,  Bif  anß  enb^)  uct^ 
famle,  \ä)ui^t  onb  eri^alte "),  »n  baf  ic^ 
berfel6en  ein  lel^enbige^  glieb  Bin  ^),  on 
ewig  Heikn  merbe')* 

a)Ioh.  10.  &)Gen.  26.  c)  Eom,  8.  Ephes.l, 
d)  Esai.  59.  Kom.  1.  et  10.  e)  Ephes.  5, 
/)  Psal.  71.  1  Cor.  11.  g)  Mat.  16.  loh.  10. 
1  Cor.  1.     A)  1  loh.  3.    i)  1  loh.  2. 

Stag* 
SBaö  öerfle^eftu  burc^  bie  gemein* 
f(^ajft  ber  ^eiligen? 

5(ntwort* 
(Srjlli^,  baf  alte  ünb  jebe  gtauBtgen, 
aU  glieber  an  bem  m^"^^  ^xx^o, 
onb  alten  feinen  fc^e^en  önb  gaBen, 
gemeinfc^afft  ^abtn'').  3um  anbetn, 
ba§  ein  jeber  feine  gaBen  ^u  nu|  önb  ^eil 
ber  anbern  gtiebcr,  luitlig  önb  mit  freu* 
ben  anzulegen  fid)  f<J)uIbig  miffen  foP)* 

a)  1  loh.  1.  1  Cor.  1.  Eom.  8.  l)  1  Cor.  12. 
ot  13.  Phil.  2. 


LIV. 

Quid  credis  de  sancta  et  catho- 
LiCA  Cheisti  Ecclesia  ? 

Credo  Filium  Dei,  ab  initio  mun- 
di  ad  finem  usque,  sibi  ex  universo 
genere  bumano  coetum  ad  vitam 
seternam  electum,  per  Spiritum 
suum  et  verbum,  in  vera  fide  con- 
sentientem,  colligere,  tueri,  ac  ser- 
vare;  meque  vivum  ejus  ccetus 
membrum  esse,  et  perpetuo  inan- 
surum. 


LV. 

Quid  sibi  vult  cojviMUJsrio  sanc- 
torum? 


Primum,  quod  universi  et  singuli 
credentes  Christi  et  omnium  ejus 
bonorum,  tanquam  ipsius  membra, 
communionem  babeant.  Deinde, 
quod  singuli,  quse  acceperunt  dona, 
in  commune  commodum  et  univer- 
sorum  salutem  prompte  et  alacriter 
conferre  debeant. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


187 


forage  54* 
2Öaö  gtauBj^  bu  öon  ber  l^ eiligen, 
aUgemeinen  Äircjje? 

5(ntn)ort* 
!Da§  ber  ®o^n  ©otteö,  auö  bem 
ganjen  ntenf(^Iic^en  ®efd)Iec^t,  fic^ 
eine  au^ermä^Ite  ©emeine  jnnt  ewigen 
igeBen,  biird)  feinen  Oeijl  nnb  2Bort, 
in  (Einigfeit  be^  tua^ren  ©laiiknö,  öon 
5(nkginn  ber  SBelt  Mo  an^^  (Snbe  oer^ 
faminle,  f(^ü|e  unb  erhalte,  nnb  baf 
i^  berfelben  ein  le^enbige^  ©lieb  Bin, 
nnb  emig  Heikn  werbe* 


Question  54. 
What  dost  thou  believe  concerning 
the  Holy  Catholic  Chuech? 

Answee. 
That,  out  of  the  whole  human 
race,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  world,  the  Son  of  God,  by 
His  Spirit  and  word,  gathers,  de- 
fends and  preserves  for  Himself 
unto  everlasting  life,  a  chosen  com- 
munion, in  the  unity  of  the  true 
faith;  and  that  I  am,  and  forever 
shall  remain,  a  living  member  of 
the  same. 


?5rage  55* 
Sßaö  üerj^e^fi  bn  bur(^  bie  (^t^ 
meinfd^aft  ber  Zeitigen? 

Slntwort* 
©rj^Iic^,  ba^  atte  unb  jebe  ©tdnBigen, 
alö  ©lieber,  an  bem  ^errn  S'^rifio 
unb  alien  feinen  ®d)ä^en  unb  ©aBen 
®emeinfd)aft  ^aben*  Bum  5(nbern, 
baf  ein  3eber  feine  ^altxi  ju  ^^^u^ 
unb  ^eil  ber  anbern  ©lieber  wiüig 
unb  mit  ^reuben  anzulegen  ftc^  f^ulbig 
»iffen  foil* 


Question  55. 
What  dost  thou  understand  hy 
the  coMiMuisrioN  of  saints  ? 

Answee. 
First,  that  believers,  all  and  every 
one,  as  members  of  Christ,  have 
part  in  Him  and  in  all  His  trea- 
sui'es  and  gifts;  secondly,  that 
each  one  must  feel  himself  bound 
to  use  his  gifts,  readily  and  cheer- 
fully, for  the  advantage  and  welfare 
of  other  members. 


188 


CATECHISMUS. 


Stag.  LVI. 

Sßaö  (jkuBfhi  »on  »erge'bung  ber         Quid  credis  de -R-E^uäsio^^ -pbcca- 
©ünbett  ?  TOKUM  ? 


5tnti»ort* 

!^af  ®ott  ümB  bet  gnugt^uung 
g^rijli  willen")  alter  meiner  [ünben, 
and)  ber  fünbli(f)en  art,  mit  ber  ic^  mein 
leBenlang  ju  j^reiten  ^ak^)  nimmer^ 
me^r  gebento  mit:  fonber  mir  bie 
0ere(^tig!eit  S^rifti  auf  gnaben  \^txi^ 
dii,  ba§  icj)  in^  geri(^t  nimmermehr 
fott  lommen'')* 

a)  1  loh.  2.  2  Cor.  5.    J)  lere.  31.  Psal.  103. 
Rom.  7.  et  8.    c)  loh.  3. 


Deum  propter  satisfactionem 
Christi,  meorum  peccatorum,  atque 
illius  etiam  pravitatis,  cum  qua 
milii  per  omnem  vitam  pugnandum 
est,  memoriam  omnem  deposuisse, 
et  me  justitia  Christi  gratis  donare, 
ne  unquam  in  judicium  veniam. 


^rag* 
2ßaö  trof!  bid)  bie  aufferfte^ung  beö 
fleifc^eö  ? 

Antwort* 
^a§  ni(^t  aüetn  meine  feet  nac^  bie^ 
fem  tebe  atö  ^atb  ju  (It)ri|^o  jrem  t;aupt 
genommen  wirb ''') :  fonber  aii(^  baf 
bip  mein  fteif(^,  buret)  bie  frajft  (it;rifti 
aujt  erwelt,  wiber  mit  meiner  feelen 
vereiniget,  üub  bem  t^eitigen  teit)  G^rifti 
gtei(i)formig  werben  fot^)* 

a)  Luc.  23.   PhU.  1.     l)  1  Cor.  15.   lob.  19. 
1  loh.  3.  Phil.  3. 


LVII. 

Qtiid  te  consolatur  eesureectio 

CAENIS  ? 

Quod  non  tantum  anima  mea, 
postquam  e  corpore  excesserit,  e 
vestigio  ad  Christum  caput  suum 
assumetur ;  verum  quod  haec 
quoque  caro  mea,  potentia  Christi 
excitata,  rursus  animse  mesB  unie- 
tur,  et  glorioso  Chi'isti  corpori  con- 
formabitur. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


189 


2Öa^  gtaukfi  bu  oon  ber  S5etge* 
l)ungbeT©ünben? 

%ntvooxt* 
'^a^  ©Ott  um  ber  ©enugt^uung 
ß^rtfit  ö)itten  alter  meiner  (Sünben, 
and)  ber  fünbltc^en  5lrt,  mit  ber  id) 
mein  Sekn  lang  ju  jbeiten  ^aBe,  nim^ 
mermel^r  gebenlen  mU,  fonbern  mir  bie 
(S5ere(^tiglcit  ß^rifti  au^  ©naben  f(^en^ 
let,  ba§  ic^  in^^  ®eri(i)t  nimmermcl;r 
folt  lommen* 


Question  56. 
What  dost  thou  believe  concerning 

the  rOKGIVEJSTESS  OF  SLNS  1 

Answek. 
That  God,  for  tlie  sake  of  Christ's 
satisfaction,  will  no  more  remember 
my  sins,  neither  the  sinfal  nature 
with  which  I  have  to  struggle  all 
my  life  long;  but  graciously  im- 
parts to  me  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  that  I  may  nevermore  come 
into  condemnation. 


i^rage  5  7» 
2Bag    tröftet    bi^    bie    ^ufer^ 
jlel^ung  be^  ^leifc^e^? 

5lntn)ort* 
2)af  nt^t  allein  meine  (Seele  mä) 
biefem  SeBen  atöbatb  ju  S^rij^o  i^rem 
^aupt  genommen  mtrb ;  fonbern  aud^, 
ba§  bie^  mein  ^leifc^,  burc^  bie  Äraft 
d^rtfti  aufermedet,  iüieber  mit  meiner 
(Seete  öereintget,  nnb  bem  ^eiligen  ßeibe 
S^rij^i  glei(^förmtg  werben  folt* 


Question  57. 
What    comfort  does  .  the   eesuk- 
EECTiON  of  the  body  afford  thee  ? 

Ajstswee. 
That  not  only  my  soul,  after  this 
life,  shall  be  immediately  taken  up 
to  Christ  its  Head;  but  also  that 
this  my  body,  raised  by  the  power 
of  Christ,  shall  again  be  united 
with  my  soul,  and  made  like  unto 
the  glorious  body  of  Christ. 


190 


CATECHISMUS. 


Sa0  ttoft  biet)  ber  %ciidd  öom 
ewigen  lekn  ? 

Unttcoxt* 

3)af,  na^bem  tc^  je^unber  ben  an^ 
fang  ber  ewigen  fteube  in  meinem 
^er^en  empfinbe''),  id)  naö)  biefem  lekn 
uollommene  fetigleit  kft^en  werbe,  bie 
lein  aug  gefe^en,  lein  o^r  get^oret,  onb 
in  leinet  menf(^en  ^txi^  nie  lomen  ift  ^), 
®ott  ewiglid)  barin  jn  greifen*')» 

a)  2  Cor.  5.     h)  1  Cor.  2.     c)  loh.  17. 


?5tag. 
2Öa^  ^ilfft  eö  biet)  aBer  nnn,  wenn 
bn  bip  atte^  glaukft  ? 

Stntwort* 
^a^  ic^  in  (^^rij^o  für  ©Ott  gerecht, 
onb  ein  dxl  be^  ewigen  lekn^  i)in^)» 

d)  Habac.  2.  Korn,  1.  loh.  3. 

?^tag» 
2öie  Hfht  gere(^t  für  Oott? 


LVIII. 

Quam  consolationem    capis    ex 
articulo  de  vita  ^eterfa  % 


Quod,  quoniam  in  prsesentia  vitse 
aeternse  initia  in  meo  corde  prsesen- 
tisco,  futurum  sit,  ut  post  hanc 
vitam  plena  perfectaque  beatitudine 
potiar,  in  qua  Deum  cum  cohaeredi- 
bus  meis  in  sempiternum  prsedi- 
cem;  quam  quidem  beatitudinem 
nee  oculus  vidit,  nee  auris  audivit, 
nee  ullus  homo  cogitatione  compre- 
hendit. 

LIX. 

At  cum  Jicec  omnia  credis^  quid 
utilitatis  inde  ad  te  redit  f 


Quod    in    Christo    Justus    sum 
coram  Deo,  et  liseres  vitse  seternse. 


LX. 

Quomodo  Justus  es  coram  Den? 


5(ntwort* 
Mein  bur(^  waren  glaukn  in  Sefum 


Sola  fide  vera  in  Jesum  Chris- 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


191 


i^rage  5  8»  Question  58. 

fBa^  ttöftet  bi(^  ber  WctiM  oom        What  comfort  hast  thou  from  tlie 
enjigen  Set) en?  article  of  the  life  eveelasting ? 


5lnt»ort» 
Daf,  na(^bem  ic^  je^t  ben  5(nfang 
ber  emigen  ^reube  in  meinem  ^erjen 
empftnbe,  id)  nac^  biefem  gekn  ooK= 
lommene  ©eligfeit  kfi^en  njerbe,  bie 
lein  Stnge  gefeiten,  fein  £)^r  getötet, 
unb  in  feinet  9)'Jenf(^en  ^er^  gelommen 
i|^ ;  ©Ott  ett)igUd^  barin  ju  j^reifen* 


Answee. 
That,  inasmucli  as  I  now  feel  in 
my  lieart  tlie  beginning  of  eternal 
joy,  I  shall  after  this  life  possess 
complete  bliss,  such  as  eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 
hath  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  ; 
therein  to  praise  God  for  ever. 


2Ba6  l^ilft  eö  bit  aber  nun,  xotvxi  bu 
bieö5(lte^glaukft? 

5tntn>ort* 
I)ap  t(^  in  S^rifto  üor  ©ott  geredet, 
unb  ein  (Srbe  beö  enjtgen  Seben^  bin» 

i^rage  60* 
Sßiebtfi  bu  gerecht  »or  ®ott  ? 

Stntmort* 
Sttletn  bur(^  wahren  ©lauben  oxi 


Question  59. 
But  what  does  it  help  thee  now, 
that  thou  helievest  all  this  f 

Answee. 
That  I  am  righteous  in  Christ 
before  God,  and  an  heir  of  eternal 
life. 

Question  60. 
How  art  thou  righteous  hefore 
God? 

Answee. 
Only  by  true  faith    in    Jesus 


192 


CATECmSMUS. 


mein  getüiffen  auflagt,  bap  id)  miber 
aUt  ®tUt  ©otteö  fc^merlic^  gefünbiget, 
ünb  bcrfelben  leinet  nie  gehalten  l)ah  ^), 
md)  no(^  jmerbar  ju  aüem  tofen  geneigt 
bin"):  bo^  ®ot  ol^n  alte  meine  öer== 
bienjt*^),  au§  lauter  gnaben*),  mir  bie 
üolfomme  gnugt^uung^/  gere(^tig!eit 
öub  ^eiligleit  S^rifti  [(^endet  ^)  öu  gu= 
te(^net^),  aU  l^ctte  i(^  nie  leine  fünbe 
begangen  noc^  gehabt,  öub  felbft  alten 
ben  ge^otfam  öottbrac^t,  ben  ß^rijhi3 
för  mi(^  {;at  geleiftet '),  wenn  iä)  allein 
folc^e  njolt^at  mit  glauMgen  ^er^en 
anneme'')* 

a)  Rom.  3.  Galat.  2.  Ephes.  2.  Phil.  3. 
&)  Rom.  3.  c)  Rom.  7.  (?)  Tit.  3.  e)  Rom.  3. 
Ephes.  2.  /)  1  loh.  2.  g')  1  lo^i-  2-  Ä)  Rom.  4. 
2  Cor.  5.     i)  2  Cor.  5.     k)  Rom.  3.  loh.  3. 


tum:  adeo  ut  licet  mea  me  con- 
scientia  accuset,  quod  adversus 
omnia  mandata  Dei  graviter  pecca- 
verim,  nee  ullum  eorum  serva- 
verim,  ad  liaec  etiamnum.  ad  omne 
malum  propensus  sim,  nihilominus 
tarnen,  modo  lisec  beneficia  vera 
animi  fiducia  amplectar,  sine  ullo 
meo  merito,  ex  vera  Dei  misericor- 
dia,  mihi  perfecta  satisfactio,  justi- 
tia  et  sanctitas  Ckristi  imputetui* 
ac  donetur,  perinde  ac  si  nee  ullum 
ipse  peccatum  admisissem,  nee  ulla 
mihi  labes  inlisereat;  imo  vero 
quasi  eam  obedientiam,  quam  pro 
me  Christus  prsestitit,  ipse  perfecta 
prsestitissem. 


?5tag* 
SCÖarumb  fagjlu  bap  bu  aüein  bur(^ 
ben  glauben  gerecht  fe^ef^? 

5(ntn)ort, 
sjli^t  baf  tc^  üon  ujegen  bet  tuirbig^ 
!eit  meinet  glaubend  ®ott  gefalte: 
fonber  baruin,  bap  allein  bie  gnugt^^ 
ung,  gere^tigleit  onb  lj)eiUg!eit  G^rijü, 
meine  gere(^tig!eit  für  @ott  ifi'*),  öub 

o)  1  Cor.  1.  et  2. 


LXI. 

Cur  sola  fide  te  justum  esse  affi/r- 
mas? 

Non  quod  dignitate  fidei  meaa 
Deo  placeam ;  sed  quod  sola  satis- 
factio,  justitia  et  sanctitas  Christi 
mea  justitia  sit  coram  Deo.  Ego 
vero  eam  non  alia  ratione,  quam 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


193 


Sefum  e^rtfbm»  %i\o,  ba^  ob  mid) 
f(^on  mein  ©eroiffen  anitagt,  baf  ic^ 
»ibcr  atte  ©ebote  ©otteö  f<^n)eTli(i) 
gefünbiöet,  unb  betfelben  leineö  je 
gehalten  ^abe,  auä)  nod)  immerbar  ju 
attem  23öfen  geneigt  Bin,  bod)  ®ott 
o^^ne  alt  mein  35erbienft,  au^  lauter 
©naben,  mir  bie  ooKlommene  ©enug^ 
f^uung,  ©erec^tigleit  unb  ^eiligleit 
S^rifti  f($en!et  unb  jurec^net,  aU  ^ätte 
t^  nie  eine  (Sünbe  Begangen  no^  ge^ 
l^aBt,  unb  felBf!  atten  ben  ©e^orfam 
üottbra^t,  ben  (J^rijhiö  für  mi^  ^at 
geteiftet,  wenn  xä)  allein  fol(^e  2Bo^I^ 
tl^at  mit  gläubigem  ^erjen  anne|)me* 


Christ.  That  is  :  altliough  my 
conscience  accuse  me,  that  I  have 
grievously  sinned  against  all  the 
commandments  of  God,  and  have 
never  kept  any  of  them,  and  that  I 
am  still  prone  always  to  all  evil, 
yet  God,  vdthout  any  merit  of  mine, 
of  mere  grace,  grants  and  imputes 
to  me  the  perfect  satisfaction,  right- 
eousness and  holiness  of  Christ,  as 
if  I  had  never  committed  nor  had 
any  sin,  and  had  myself  accom- 
plished all  the  obedience  which 
Christ  has  fulfilled  for  me,  if  only 
I  accept  such  benefit  with  a  believ- 
ing heart. 


^rage  61* 
SGBarum  fagft  bu,  bap  bu  attein  bur^ 
ben  ©tauBen  gere(^t  feieft  ? 

5tntmort* 
S'lic^t  bap  la)  »on  megen  ber  2Öür^ 
bigleit  meinet  ©tauben^  @ott  gefalle ; 
fonbern  barum,  ba§  attein  bie  ©enug^^ 
t^uung,  ®ere(^tig!eit  unb  ^eiligfeit 
a^xxfti  meine  ©ere^tigleit  »or  ®ott 


Question  61. 
Why  sayest  thou^  that  thou  art 

righteous  only  hy  faith  f 

Ans  WEE. 
Not  that  I  am  acceptable  to  God 
on  account  of  the  worthiness  of  my 
faith;  but  because  only  the  satis- 
faction, righteousness  and  holiness 
of  Christ  is  my  righteousness  be- 


25 


194  CATECHISÄIUS. 

iö)  btefelBe  nt(i>t  anberfi,  benn  allein  fide,  amplecti    et    mihi    applicai-e 

iuxä)  bcn  glaukn  annemen,  önb  mii:  queam. 
gueigen  !an^)» 

h)  1  loh.  5. 

%xaQ.  LXn. 

•   SÖarumB  lonnen  abtx  unfere  gute         Our  7iostra  hona  opera  non  pos- 

xotxd  ntt  bte  geredjtiglett  für  ©Ott,  sunt  esse  justitia,  vel  pars  aliqua 

ober  ein  ftu(l  berfelben  fein?  justitice  coram  Deo ? 
5(ntnjott* 
X)animl),  bap  bie  gere(^tig!eit,  fo  fur         Propterea  quod  oportet  earn  jus- 

©otteö  geri(^t  Belleben  fot,  burc^auf  titiam,  quae  in  judicio  Dei  consistat, 

OOÜomcn,  ünb  bem  ©ottlic^cn  ®efe|  perfecte  absolutam  esse,  et  omni  ex 

gan^  gleid) formig  fein  mu§''),onb  aber  parte    divinae    legi    congruentem; 

au^  onfere  bej^e  xotxd  in  biefem  lebe  nostra  vero   etiam  prsestantissima 

aüc  onuollomen,  ün  mit  fünben  befle(!t  quaeque  opera,  in  hac  vita  sunt  im- 

fijtb^)*  perfecta,  atque  adeo  peccatis  inqui- 

a)  Galat.  3.  Deut.  27.     V)  Esai.  64.  nata. 

^rag.  LXIIL 

2}erbienen    aber  onfere  gute  toer^         Quornodo  hona  opera  nostra  nihil 

ni^t^,  fo  fte  boc^  ®ott  in  biefem  onb  promerentur^  cum  Dens  et  in  prce- 

julünfftigen  leben  mil  belohnen  ?  senti  et  in  futura  vita  mercedem 

pro  his  se  daturum  promittat  ? 

2lnttt)ort* 
!I)ie  Belohnung  gefd)i$t  nit  auf  üer^         Merces  ea  non  datnr  ex  merito, 

bienjt,  fonber  auf  gnaben")*  sed  ex  gratia. 

c)  Luc.  17. 

grag.  LXIV. 

9J?a^t  aber  biefe  Ic^rc  nic^t  forglofe        An  non  autem  hcec  doctrina  red- 

üttb  üerru^te  leut  ?  dit  homines  securos  et  profanos  ? 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


195 


ij^,  imb  iö)  biefelbe  nict)t  anberö  benn 
allein  buret)  ben  ©laukn  anne(;men  unb 
mir  jueignen  faun* 

forage  62* 

2Barum  lonncn  aber  unfcre  guten 
2Ber!e  nid)t  bie  ©ercdjtigleit  yor  ©ott 
ober  ein  ®tücf  bevfctben  fein  ? 
5lntn?ort» 

^arum,  njeit  bie  ©ered)tigfeit,  fo 
»or  ©otteö  ®eri(^t  kftel^cn  folt,  Hxä)^ 
auö  öoHlommen  unb  bem  göttlid)en 
©efe^  ganj  gtei(i)förmig  fein  muf; 
a'ber  auä)  unfere  l)eften  SBerfe  in  bie^ 
fem  Sekn  atte  imöoUfommen  unb  mit 
(Sünben  Befielt  fmb« 


fore  God,  and  I  can  receive  the 
same  and  make  it  my  own  in  no 
other  way  than  by  faith  only. 

Question  62. 

^2(t  wliy  cannot  our  good  ivoi'Ics 
he  tlie  whole  or  part  of  our  o'igltt- 
eoiisness  before  God? 
Answer. 

Because  the  righteousness  which 
can  stand  before  the  judgment-seat 
of  God,  must  be  perfect  through- 
out and  wholly  conformable  to  the 
divine  law ;  whereas  even  our  best 
works  in  this  life  are  all  imperfect 
and  defiled  with  sin. 


^rage  63, 
SSerbienen  akr  unfere  guten  2Öer!e 
nid)tö,  fo  fte  bo(^  ®ott  in  biefem  unb 
bem  julünftigen  2el)en  njill  kto^nen  ? 

5(ntioort* 
^ie  Seto^ung  gefi^ie^^t  nic^t  au^ 
SSerbienj^,  fonbern  au^  ©naben* 

i^rage  64, 
5D'la(^t  aBer  biefe  Seigre  nic^t  forglofe 
unb  oerruc^tc  ßeute? 


Question  63. 
How  is  it  that  our  good  worlcs 
merit  nothing,  while  yet  it  is  God^s 
will  to  reward  them  in  this  life  and 
in  that  which  is  to  come  f 
Answer. 
The  reward  comes  not  of  merit, 
but  of  grace. 

Question  64.  X 
But  does  not  this  doctrine  mahe 
m^n  careless  and  prof ane  f 


196 


CATECHISMUS. 


^dn,  X)ettn  eö  üniucgli(^  tj^,  baf  Non :  neque  enim  fieri  potest,  ut 

hk;  fo  e^rij^o   buti^   n?aren  Qiaubtn  qui  Christo  per  fidem  insiti  sunt, 

fmb  eingepflanzt,  nit  ftui^t  ber  band*  fructus  gratitudinis  non  proferant. 
^barleit  fotlen  Bringen*)* 

a)  Matt.  7.  ' 


S5ott  ben  l^ciügctt  ^acramentctu 


DE   SACKAMENTIS. 


3)ieö)eil  ben  altein  ber  gtaiiB  ön^ 
S^rifü,  ünb  alter  feiner  molt^aten  t^eil* 
^afftig  ma(^t:  wo^er  lompt  foI(^er 
glaube  ? 

5(ntwort* 
ADer  ^eilig  ©eij^  touxdü  benfelben 
in  önfern  lernen"),  bur*^  bte  prebig  be^ 
l^eiltgen  (Suangetion^,  »n  bej^etiget  ben 
burd)  ben  brauch  ber  ^^eiligen  «Sacra^ 
menten^)* 

a)  Ephes.  2.  loh.  3.     d)  Mat.  28.  1  Pet.  1. 

^tag* 
SBa^  feinb  bic  «Sacrament? 

5tntn)ort* 
So  feinb  fi^tbare  ^^eilige  njarjei(^en 
»nb  ©igill,  öon  ©ott  barju  eingefe|t, 
bap  er  un^  burc^  ben  hxaxiä)  berfelkn,  bie 


LXV. 

Quoniam  igitur  sola  fides  nas 
Christi  atque  omnium  ejus  bene- 
ficiorum  participes  facit^  unde 
proficiscituT  Jicec fides? 

A  Spiritu  Sancto,  qui  earn  per 
praedicationem  Evangelii  in  cordi- 
bus  nostris  accendit,  et  per  usum 
Sacramentorum  confii'mat. 


Lxyi. 

Quid  sunt  Sacramenta  ? 

Sunt  sacra  et  in  oculos  incuri'en- 
tia  signa,  ac  sigilla,  ob  earn  causam 
a  Deo  instituta,  ut  per  ea  nobis 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


197 


bh,  fo  S^rijlo  biird^  roa^xtn  ©tauten 
fmb  eingepflanjet,  nic^t  ^tu(^t  ber 
2)anlbat!eit  fotten  bringen* 


Answee. 
No;    for  it   is   impossible  that 
those  who  are  implanted  into  Christ 
by   true   faith,   should   not  bring 
forth  fruits  of  thankfulness. 


S5ott  bctt  ^etUgcu  Sactamentcn«    ofthe  holysaceaments. 


%xag^t  65, 
3)te»?ctl  benn  attein  ber  ©taute  un^ 
(£f)x\\ti  unb   alter  feiner   SBo^tt^aten 
t^eit^afttg  nta^^t,  »o^er  lomtnt  fot(^er 
©taoik? 

5tntö?ort* 
T)tx  l^eittge  (I5eifi  mtrlet  benfetbeit  in 
unfern  ^erjen  burd)  bte  ^^rebigt  be^ 
fettigen  Soangetiumö,  unb  beftätiget 
il^n  bur(^  ben  ®et>rauc^  ber  l^eittgen 
©acramente* 


Question  65. 
Since  then  we  are  made  partak&ra 
of  Christ,  and  all  His  benefits,  hy 
faith    07Üy,    whence    comes     this 
faith  f 

Answee. 
The  Holy  Ghost  works  it  in  our 
hearts   by   the   preaching   of    the 
Holy  Gospel,  and  confirms  it  by 
the  use  of  the  Holy  Sacraments. 


?5rage  6Q. 
SGBa^  fmb  bte  ©acramente  ? 

5tntn?ort» 
(£ö  fmb  fii^tbare,  fettige  Sa'^rjei^en 
unb  (Sieget,  oon  ®ott  baju  emgefe^t, 


Question  66. 
What  are  the  Sacraments  f 

Answee. 
The  Sacraments  are  visible,  holy 
signs  and  seals,  appointed  of  God 


baf  (St  une  bur(^  ben  @et>rauc^  berfet*     for  this  end,  that  by  the  use  ther< 


198 


CATECHISMUS. 


üer^etfjTung  beö  Suangelionö  bejlo  Beffer 
jmictftel)cn  gebe,  önb  t'erfiegele :  5lem^ 
licl),  baf  er  ünö  öon  lüegen  be^  einigen 
op\\ix^  ß^rijli,  am  Sreu^  üolbrad)!, 
üergeBung  ber  fünben,  önb  emigeö  lekn 
auf  gnaben  ^tndt")* 

a)   Gen,   17.    Eom.  4.    Deut.  30.    Leuit.  6. 
Heb.  9.    Ezech.  20. 

(Seinb  benn  t)eijbe  ba^  wort  önb  bte 
©acrament  bal;in  geri(^t,  ba§  fie  unfern 
glauben  auff  ba^  opffer  3efu  ^xifü 
am  Sreu^,  alö  auff  ben  einige  grunb 
önferer  feligleit  n^eifen  ? 

5(ntn)ort» 
Sa  fre^Iii^:  !l)en  ber  l^eiüg  ©eift 
le'^ret  im  (Suangelio,  onb  Bef^etiget 
burd)  bie  t;eitige  «Sacrament,  baf?  önfere 
gan|e  feligfeit  j^e^e  in  bem  einigen 
o^ffer  S^rifli,  fur  ön^  am  Sreu^  ge* 
fc^e^enO- 

a)  Eom.  6.  Galat.  3. 

%raQ. 
2ßieuiel  (Sacrament  ^at  d^rijk^  im 
neiDen  5leftament  eingefe^t  ? 

Stntwort* 

ßwei^ :  ben  l)eiligen  S^auff,  önb  ba^ 
^''''ilig  SlknbmaL 


promissionem  Evangelii  magis  de- 
claret  et  obsignet :  quocl  scilicet 
non  universis  tantum,  verum  etiam 
singulis  creclentibus,  propter  uni- 
cum  illud  Christi  sacrificium  in 
cruce  peractum,  gratis  donet  remis- 
sionem  peccatonim,  et  vitam  aeter- 
nam. 

LXVII. 

JSlum  utraque  igitur^  et  Verhum  et 
Sacramenta^  eo  spectant,  utfldemnos- 
tram  ad  sacrificium  Christi  m  cruce 
jperactum.,  tanquam  ad  wnicum  nos- 
tree  sahitisfundamentum^  deducant  ? 

Ita  est:  nam  Spiritus  Sanctus 
docet  Evansrelio,  et  confirmat  Sacra- 
mentis,  omnem  nostram  salutem 
positam  esse  in  unico  sacrificio 
Christi,  pro  nobis  in  cruce  oblati. 


LXVIII. 

Quot  Sacramenta  instituit  Chris- 
tus in  novo  foßderef 

Duo  :     Baptismum,   et    Sacram 
Coenam. 


THE  HEroELBERG  CATECHISM. 


199 


kn  bte  35cr:^et§ung  m  (Suatrgetium^  of  He  may  the  more  fally  declare 

bef!o  t)e|[et  ju  ücrjle^en  gebe  wnb  m-  and  seal  to  us  tlie  promise  of  the 

ftcgele :  namlid),  ba§  Sr  unö  öon  megen  Gospel :   namely,  that  He  grants 

be^  eintgen  O^ferö  d^rifti,  am   ^reuj  us  out  of  free  grace  the  forgiveness 

öottbrad)!,  35ergebung  bet  (Sünben  unb  of  sins  and  everlasting  life,  for  the 

ewigem  Se^en  auö  ®naben  fc^enle*  sake  of  the  one  sacrifice  of  Chi-ist 

accomplished  on  the  cross. 


forage  67» 
(Stnb  benn  beibe,  ba^  2Bort  unb  bic 
(Sacramente,  ba()in  gertd)tet,  bap  fie 
unfern  ©lauBen  auf  baö  Opfer  ^efu 
d^rifti  am  ^reuj,  aU  auf  ben  einigen 
©runb  unferer  (Setigleit,  weifen  ? 

5(nt»ort» 
Sa  freili(^;  benn  ber  ^eilige  ©eift 
le'^ret  im  Soangelium,  unb  kftätiget 
bur^  bic  ^eiligen  ©acramente,  bap 
unfere  ganje  (Seligleit  jle^e  in  bcm 
einigen  £)pfer  S^^rifti,  für  ung  am 
Äreuj   gef(^e^en« 


Question  67. 
Are  hotli  these^  then.,  the  Woi^d  and 
the  Sacraments^  designed  to  direct 
our  faith  to  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus 
Christ  on  the  cross.,  as  the  onVy 
qrov/nd  of  our  salvation  f 

Answee. 
Yes  truly ;  for  the  Holy  Ghost 
teaches  in  the  Gospel,  and  by  the 
Holy  Sacraments  assures  us,  that 
our  whole  salvation  stands  in  the 
one  sacrifice  of  Christ  made  for  us 
on  the  cross. 


i^rage  68*  Question  68. 

Sßie  öiel  ©acramente  ^at  S^rifkö  How  many  Sacramsntshas  Christ 

im  neuen  3^eftament  eingefe^t?  appointed  in  the  New  Testament? 

Stntwort*  Answek. 

ßmei:  bie  f)eitige  5laufe,  unb  ^i^i^  Two:    Holy  Baptism,  and  the 

l^eilige  5lbenbma^L  Holy  Supper. 


200 


CATECHISMUS. 


S^om  fftili^tn  ^auff. 


DE    SACEO    BAPTISMO. 


f^tag  LXIX. 

Sole  njtrjhi  im  ^eiligen  ^aujf  ettn^         Qua  ratione  in  Baptismo  admo- 

nert  on  oerfK^ett,  bap  baö  einege  opffer  7^er^■<9  (?i5  confirmaris^  te  unici  illius 

S|rifti  am  Steu^  bit  ^u  gut  lomme?  sacrificii  Christi pai'ticipem  esse? 


5(ntn)ott* 

Srifo:  bap  d^rtjht^  bip  cufferttc^ 
»afferBab  eingcfe^t,  önb  batt)C9  öer^ 
l^eijTen  ^at,  bap  t(^  fo  gemip  mit  feinem 
Hut  ünb  geift,  oon  ber  üureinigleit 
jueiner  feelen,  baö  ift,  alten  meinen  fün== 
ben  gemaffc^en  fet),  fo  gemip  ic^  euffer^» 
Ii(^  mit  bem  mafi'er,  n)el(^eö  bie  önfau^* 
tcrieit  beö  leibö  pflegt  ^^injunemen, 
geiuaffd)en  Mn*)* 

a)  Mar,  1.  Luc.  3. 

grag* 
2Öag  I)eif!  mit  bem  Hut  ünb  ®cifi 
(S^rijli  genjaff($en  fein  ? 

5(ntnjort, 
So  ^eift  oerge'bung  ber  funben  üon 
©Ott  auf  gnaben  ^akn,  emB  beö  Hutö 


Quod  Christus  externum  aquse 
lavacrum  mandavit,  addita  hac  pro- 
missione,  me  nou  minus  certo  ipsius 
sanguine  et  Spiritu  a  sordibus  ani- 
mse,  hoc  est,  ab  omnibus  meis  pec- 
catis  lavari,  quam  aqua  extrinsecus 
ablutus  sum,  qua  sordes  corporis 
expurgari  solent. 


LXX. 

Quid    est    sanguine  et  Spiritu 
Christi  dblui  ? 


Est  accipere  a  Deo  remissionem 
peccatorum  gratis,  propter  sangui- 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


201 


SBott  htx  ^eiligen  S^aufe, 


OF    HOLY  -BAPTISM 


2Btc  mitfl  bu  in  ber  ^^eiligett  ^aufc 
erinnert  unb  öerft(i)crt,  ba^  baö  einige 
O^jfer  ß^rifii  am  Äreuj  bir  ju  gut 
lomnte  ? 

5tntn)ort* 
Stlfo,  baf  (S{)ri|hiö  biefeö  anfertige 
SBafTerBab  eingefe^t,  unb  batei  oer^^ei^ 
fen  ^at,  baf  ic^  fo  gen?ip  mit  feinem 
SBIut  nnb  Oeift  oon  ber  Unreinigleit 
meiner  (Seele,  "ca^  ift,  aÜen  meinen 
(Sünben  gen>afc^en  fei,  fo  genjip  xä) 
äu^ertii^  mit  bem  Sßaffer,  meld)eö  bie 
Unfauberleit  beö  SeiBeö  pflegt  l^inju^ 
nehmen,  gen?af^en  l^in* 

i^rage  70» 
2ßaö   '^eift   mit    bem    S3Iut    unb 
©eifi  (S^rij^i  gen^af^en  fein  ? 

Slntwort, 
@g  ^eift,  35erge^ung  ber  ©ünben 

oon  ©Ott  au0  ©naben  l^at)en,  um  be^ 
26 


Question  69. 
ITow  is  it  signified  and  sealed 
unto  tJiee  in  Holy  Bafptism^  that 
thoih  hast  pai't  in  the  one  sacrifice 
of  Christ  on  the  cross  f 

Answee. 
Thus  :  tliat  Christ  has  appointed 
this  outward  washing  with  water, 
and  has  joined  therewith  this  pro- 
mise, that  I  am  washed  with  His 
blood  and  Spirit  from  the  pollution 
of  my  soul,  that  is,  from  all  my 
sins,  as  certainly  as  I  am  washed 
outwardly  with  water,  whereby 
commonly  the  iilthiness  of  the 
body  is  taken  away. 

Question  TO. 
What  is  it  to  he  washed  with  the 
hlood  and  Spirit  of  Christ  ? 

Ans  WEE. 
It  is  to  have  the  forgiveness  of 
sins  from  God,  through  grace,  for 


202 


CATECHISMUS. 


S^rijli  njilten,  nodä)^  er  in  feinem  opffer 
am  Sreu^  für  ünö  üergoJTett  l^at  *) : 
2)arnac^  aitcj)  biirc^  ben  I;eiligen  ®ei|! 
ernen?ett,  ünb  ^u  einem  glieb  &)xxfü  ge^ 
l^eiliget  fein,  ba^  mir  je  lenger  je  me^r 
ber  fünben  al^fterkn,  ön  in  einem  ©ott* 
feiigen,  önj!refli(^en  leben  tüanblen^)* 

a)  Hebr.  12.  1  Pet.  1.  Apoc.  1.  Zach.  13. 
Ezech.  36.  h)  loh.  1.  loh.  3.  1  Cor.  6.  et  12. 
Eom.  6.  Ooloss.  2. 

2ßo  ^at  Sl^riftu^  öetl^eiffen,  ba§  njir 
fo  geiDi§  mit  feinem  Mnt  onb  geift  aU 
mit  bem  taujfiDajfer  ge)i)a|f<$en  feinb  ? 

Slntwort* 
3n  ber  einfe^nng  be^  ^^auff^,  mel^e 
alfo  lautet*  ®c^et  ^in,  »nb  le^*» 
rct  alle  S56lder,  önb  tauffet 
fie,  im  namen  be^  S5ater^  önb 
be0  ©on^,  ön  beö  !^eiltgcn 
©eij^ö"):  wer  ba  glaul)et  onb 
gctauffet  wirb,  ber  wirb  feiig 
werben:  wer  aBer  nic^t  glauljt, 
ber  wirb  oerbam^t  werben**). 
X)ie[e  üer^eiffung  wirbt  and)  wiber^^olet, 
ba  bie  f<^rtjft  ben  ^Tauff  baö  bab  ber 
wibergeburt "),  onb  abwajf(^ung  ber 
fünben  nennet '^)* 

o)  Matt.  28.  i)  Mar.  16.  c)  Tim.  3.  d)  Act.  22. 


nem  Cliristi,  quem  is  pro  nobis  in 
suo  sacrificio  in  cruce  profudit; 
deinde  etiam  per  Spiritum  Sanc- 
tum renovari,  et  ipso  sanctificante 
membrum  Christi  fieri,  quo  magis 
ac  magis  peccatis  moriamur,  et 
sancte  inculpateque  vivamus. 


LXXI. 

ZTM  promisit  Cliristus^  se  nos 
tarn  certo  sanguine  et  8piritu  suo 
aUuturum^  quam  aqua  Baptismi 
dbluti  sumusf 

In  institutione  Baptismi,  cujus 
liaec  sunt  verba:  Ite  et  docete 
omnes  gentes,  baptizantes  eos  in 
nomine  Patris,  et  Filii,  et  Spiritus 
Sancti.  Qui  crediderit  et  baptizatus 
fuerit,  servabitur :  qui  non  credide- 
rit, condemn  abitur.  Haec  promis- 
sio  repetitur,  cum  Scriptura  Baptis- 
mum  nomin  at  lavacrum  regenera- 
tionis,  et  ablutionem  peccatorum. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECIHSM. 


203 


SBIuteö  ß^rifti  tritten,  n)eld)e^  dx  in 
feinem  Opfer  am  ^reitj  für  un^  üer^ 
gojfen  l^at;  barna(^  auc^  burd^  ben 
^eiligen  ©etfi:  erneuert,  unb  ju  einem 
OTeb  S^rij^i  ge^^eiliget  fein,  ba§  n?ir 
je  langer  je  me!^r  ber  ©ünbe  abfierkn, 
unb  in  einem  gottfeUgen,  unjhräflic^en 
Cei>en  »anbeln* 


the  sake  of  Christ's  blood,  which 
He  shed  for  us  in  His  sacrifice  on 
the  cross ;  and  also,  to  be  renewed 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  sanctified 
to  be  members  of  Christ,  that  so 
we  may  more  and  more  die  unto 
sin,  and  lead  holy  and  unblamable 
lives. 


?^rage  71. 
SBo  ]^at  S^rifiu^  oer'^ei^en,  t^a^  »ir 
fo  gemip  mit  feinem  23Iut  unb  ©eift 
aU  mit    bem  Siaufnjaffer   genjafd)en 
fmb? 

SIntwort* 
3n  bcr  Sinfe^ung  ber  5laufe,  mlä)t 
alfo  lautet:  ©e^ct  ^in,  unb  Ie^=* 
ret  alle  dotier,  unb  taufet  fie 
im  ^'^amen  be^  SSater^,  unb  bci^ 
<Bo^nt^f  unb  beö  l^eiligen  ©et=* 
jicö*  2ßer  ba  glaubet  unb  gc^ 
tauft  rnirb,  ber  wirb  felig 
»erben;  »er  aber  ni($t  glau* 
'bct,  bcr  wirb  öerbammt  wer* 
ben.  T)k\t  S5erl^ei§ung  wirb  au6) 
toieber^^olt,  ba  bie  (S(i)rift  bie  3^aufe 
ba0  S3ab  ber  2ßieberget)urt,  unb  bie 
StbtDaf^ung  ber  ©ünben  nennet* 


Question  71. 
Where  tias  Christ  promised^  that 
we  are  as  certainly  washed  lüith 
His  hlood  and  Spirit  as  with  the 
water  of^Baptism  f 

Answee. 
In   the   institution  of  Baptism, 
which  runs  thus:    Go  ye,  therefore, 
and    teach   all   nations,   baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holv 
Ghost.     He  that  believeth  and  is 
baptized,  shall  be  saved;   but  he 
that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned. 
This  promise  is  also  repeated,  where 
the    Scripture   calls   Baptism   the 
washing  of  regeneration,  and  the 
washing  away  of  sins. 


204 


CATECmSMUS. 


gtag.  LXXII. 

3jl  bcnn   ba^  eujferltd)  waJTet'bab,         Estne  ergo  extemus  Baptismus 
bie  aBma[f(^ung  ber  funben  felbjl?  aqucB  ipsa  peccatorum  ablutio? 


SfJetn"),  I)enn  attein  ba^  Hut  Sefu         N'on   est;     nam   solus    sanguis 

e^rij^t,  onb  ber  ^eilige  ©eij^  reiniget  Jesu  Cliristi  purgat  nos  ab  omni 

önö  öon  allen  funben  ^)*  peccato. 

l)  1  loh.  1. 


a)  Mat.  3.    1  Pet.  3.   Ephes.  5 
1  Cor.  6. 


^rag.   . 
SÖarumB  nennet  benn  ber  l^eitige 
®ei|l  ben  ^auff  ba^  t)ab  ber  miber=' 
getjurt,  onb  bie  at>waJT(!)ung  ber  fun^ 
ben? 

Stntmort* 
©Ott  rebet  atfo  nit  one  grojfe  örfad) : 
9'lemU(^,  nit  allein  bj  er  ünö  bamit  mil 
lel;ren,  ba§,  glei(^  mie  onfauberleit  be^ 
leib^  bur(^  n?a|[er,  alfo  onfere  funbc 
bur(^0  Hut  onb  geij!  ß^rijli  !^inn?eg 
genomen  werben ") :  fonber  öielme^r, 
bj  er  önö  bxirc^  bi^  ©ottlic^  pfanb  ünb 
tt)arjeid)e  n)il  üerfic^ern,  bj  n)ir  fo  toar* 
l^afftig  öon  onfern  funben  gei|!li(^  ge^» 
nja[fd}e  fmb,  alö  n)ir  mit  bem  leiHii^en 
wajfer  gen?afc^en  werben^)* 

o)  Apoc.  1.  et  7.    1  Cor.  6.     h)  Marc.  16. 
Galat.  3. 


LXXIII. 

Our  ergo  Spiritus  Sanctus  JBap- 
tismum  appellat  lavacrum  regenera- 
tionis^  et  abhitionem  peccatorumf 


Deus  non  sine  gravi  causa  sie 
loquitur:  videlicet,  non  solum  ut 
nos  doceat,  quemadmodum  sordes 
corporis  aqua  purgantur,  sie  pec- 
cata  nostra  sanguine  et  Spiiitu 
Cliristi  expiari;  verum  multo  ma- 
gis,  ut  nobis  lioc  divino  symbolo 
ac  pignore  certum  faciat,  nos  non 
minus  vere  a  peccatis  nostris  inter- 
na lotione  ablui,  quam  externa  et 
visibili  aqua  abluti  sumu». 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


205 


51^  benn  ba^  äuperti(^e  2Öa|[erbab 
bic  ^bwaf^ung  ber  (Sünben  felbii  ? 

5(ntwott* 
S'lein;   benn  allein  baö  23Iut  Scfu 
S^rij^t  unb  bet  l^eilige  ©eiji  reiniget 
un^  oon  alten  (Sünben* 


Question  72. 
Ti-  ^A(S?i  ^Äe  outward  washing  with 
water  itself  the  washing  away  of 
sins  f 

Answer. 
No ;  for  only  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Clirist  and  tlie  Holy  Spirit  cleanse 
us  from  all  sin. 


^rage  73. 
SÖarum   nennet    benn   ber  ^eilige 
©eifi  bie  5tanfe  baö  23ab  ber  Sßieber- 
geBurt,  unb  bie  ^btt>af(i)ung  ber  ©iin 
ben? 

SCntiDort* 
®ott  rebet  alfo  nid)t  o^ne  gro^e  Hr^ 
fac^e:  nämticj),  nic()t  allein  ba§  (£r 
un^  bamit  mitt  teuren,  ba^,  gtei^n?ie 
bic  Unfankrleit  beö  Seiko  bur(^  2Baf^ 
fer,  atfo  unfere  ©unb en  burd)^ö  ^tut 
unb  ®eijl  S^rijli  l^iniüeg  genommen 
werben ;  fonbern  öietme^r,  ba§  (Sr  nn^ 
bur^  bie^  götttii^e  ^fanb  unb  SBa^r^^ 
3ci(^en  iüiö  üerjii^ern,  baf  mir  fo  ma^r^ 
^aftig  öon  unfern  (Sünben  geij^Ii^  ge^ 
maf(^en  ftnb,  al^  mir  mit  bem  leiHic^en 
SBaffer  gemafc^en  merben. 


Question  73. 
Why^  then^  doth  the  Holy  Ghost 
call  Baptism  the  washing  of  regen- 
eration^ and  the  washing  away  of 
sins  f 

Answee. 
God  speaks  thus  not  without 
great  cause :  namely,  not  only  to 
teach  us  thereby  that  like  as  the 
filthiness  of  the  body  is  taken  away 
by  water,  so  our  sins  also  are  taken 
away  by  the  blood  and  Spirit  of 
Christ ;  but  much  more,  that  by 
this  divine  pledge  and  token  He 
may  assure  us,  that  we  are  as  really 
washed  from  our  sins  spiritually, 
as  our  bodies  are  washed  with 
water. 


206 


CATECHISMUS. 


©ol  man  an^  bte  Junge  finber  tau* 
ff  en? 

Sa :  ;i)enn  biemeil  fie  fo  tuol  al^  bie 
alten  in  ben  23unbt  ©otteö  onb  feine 
gemein  geboten  "^),  ünb  j^nen  in  bem 
Mut  S^rtfti  bie  erlofung  oon  funben^), 
»nb  bet  l^eilig  ®eijt,  meieret  ben  glau^* 
Ben  xouxäd,  nit  n>eniger  benn  ben  alten 
gugefagt  mitb  ^) :  fo  folte  fie  aud)  burcj) 
ben  tauff,  aU  beö  23unbö  jeid)e,  ber 
S^riftUc^en  Äirc^en  eingeleibt,  onb  oon 
ber  önglauBigen  linber  »nberfc^eiben 
werben*^),  irie  im  alten  ^eftament 
burc^  bie  bef(^neibung  gefd)e"^en  ijl*), 
an  m[ä)tx  ftat  im  nennen  ^ejlament  ber 
5tauff  ijleingefe^tO* 

o)  Gen.  IT.  5)  Matt.  19.  c)  Luc.  1.  Psal.  22. 
Esai.  46.  Act.  2.  d)  Act.  10.  e)  Gen.  17. 
/)  Coloss,  2. 


LXXIV. 

Suntne    etiam    infantes    hwptir 
zandi  f 


Omnino.  Nam  cum  seque  atque 
adulti  ad  foedus  et  Ecclesiam  Dei 
pertineant ;  cumque  eis  per  sangui- 
nem  Christi  remissio  peccatorum, 
et  Spiritus  Sanctus,  fidei  effector, 
non  minus  quam  adultis  promitta- 
tur;  per  Baptismum  ceu  foederis 
signaculum  Ecclesiae  Dei  inserendi 
sunt,  et  ab  infidelium  liberis  dis- 
cernendi,  itidem  ut  in  veteri  fcedere 
per  Circumcisionem  fiebat,  cui  in 
novo  foedere  substitutus  est  Bap- 
tismus. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


20T 


©oil  man  au^  bie  iungen  Äinbet 
taufen  ? 

5(ntmoTt* 
Sa*  !l)enn  bieweit  fte  fomo^l  aU  bie 
bitten  in  ben  23unb  ©otte^  unb  feine 
Gemeine  gepren,  unb  i^nen  in  bent 
S3Iut  (S^tifti  bie  (^rlöfung  öon  (Bm^ 
ben  unb  ber  ^eilige  ©eijl,  n?el^er  ben 
©tauBen  n^itlet,  ni(J)t  «weniger  benn  ben 
5tlten  jugefagt  n?irb ;  fo  foUen  fte  au(^ 
buT(^  bie  2;aufe,  aU  beö  Sunbeö  Bei* 
c^en,  ber  (^riftlic^en  ^xxä)t  einöerleibt 
unb  oon  ber  Ungläubigen  Äinber  unter* 
fc^ieben  merben,  n»ie  im  alten  5lefta* 
ment  buriJ)  bie  23efd)neibung  gefc^e^^en 
ijl,  an  tüeldjer  (Statt  int  neuen  Zt^a^ 
ment  bie  ^aufe  i^  eingefe|t* 


QtJESTION   74. 

Are  infants  also  to  he  ha^tized  f 

Answee. 
Yes.  For  since  they,  as  well  as 
tlieir  parents,  belong  to  the  cove- 
nant and  people  of  God,  and  both 
redemption  from  sin  and  the  Holy- 
Ghost,  who  works  faith,  are  thi'ough 
the  blood  of  Christ  promised  to 
them  no  less  than  to  their  parents ; 
they  are  also  by  Baptism,  as  a  sign 
of  the  covenant,  to  be  ingrafted 
into  the  Christian  Church,  and  dis- 
tinguished from  the  children  of 
unbelievers,  as  was  done  in  the 
Old  Testament  by  Circumcision,  in 
place  of  which  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment Baptism  is  appointed. 


208 


CATECHISMUS. 


S5om  IjeiUgcn  5lBcnbmaI  St\u 


DE    SACEA    DOMINI 
CCENA. 


2Öic  ß)trjht  im  ^eiligen  Stfeenbmat 
erinnert  önb  üerfti^ert,  ha^  bu  an  bem 
einigen  opffer  S^rifti  am  Sreu^,  on 
aüen  feinen  gutem  gemeinf^afft  ^a^ 

5(ntn)ort» 
%i\Of  baf  ß^lriftu^  mir  on  aUtn 
gläubigen  oon  biefem  gekocj)nen  Brob 
gu  eJTen,  onb  oon  biefem  ^elc^  ju  trin^ 
den  befohlen  ^at,  onb  barbei^  oer^eiffen, 
Srftlic^  ba§  fein  teiB  fo  geioi^  fur  mid) 
am  Sreu^  geopffert  onb  geko(i)en,  onb 
fein  blut  für  mxä)  oergoffen  fei^,  fo  ge* 
joip  ic^  mit  äugen  fe!^e,  ba§  ba^  Brob 
beö  ^SS^^'tS'Z  mir  gekoc^en,  onb  ber 
Rdd)  mir  mitget^eilet  wirb*  3}nb  jum 
anbern,  bap  er  felbj!  meine  feel  mit 
feinem  gecreu^igten  leib  onb  oergojfnen 
Mut  fo  geioi^  gum  ett)igen  leBen  fpeife 
on  trencfe,  aU  id)  au§  ber  ^anb  be^ 
!I)iener^  em))fange,  onb  leiHid^  niejfe 


LXXV. 

Qica  ratione  in  öoena  Domini 
admoneris  et  confirmaris,  te  unici 
Ulms  sacrificii  Christi  in  cruce 
oblati,  atque  omnium  ejus  bonorum^ 
jpartieipem.  esse  f 

Quod  Cliristus  me  atque  omnes 
iideles  de  hoc  fracto  pane  edere,  et 
de  poculo  distributo  bibere  jussit, 
in  sui  memoriam,  additis  his  pro- 
missis  :  Primum,  corpus  suum  non 
minus  certo  pro  me  in  cruce  obla- 
tum  ac  fractum,  sanguinemque 
suum  pro  me  fusum  esse,  quam 
oculis  cerno  panem  Domini  mihi 
frangi,  et  poculum  mihi  communi- 
cari;  deinde,  animam  meam  non 
minus  certo  ipsius  corpore  quod 
pro  nobis  crucifixum,  et  sanguine 
qui  pro  nobis  fusus  est,  ad  vitam 
seternam  ab  ipso  pasci,  quam  pa- 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


209 


S^ott  htm  ^eiligen  ^lBcnbma^I 


OF  THE  HOLY  SUPPER 
OF  THE  LORD. 


%xaQt  lb. 
2Bie  mtrjl  bu  im  ^eiligen  5tbenb^ 
ma(;l  erinnert  xmb  oerfid)ert,  bap  bu 
an  bent  einigen  £)pfer  (J()rifti  am 
Äreuj  unb  atten  feinen  ©ütern  ®e=* 
meinfd)aft  ^akft  ? 

5tntn)ort» 
5tIfo,  bap  S^riftitö  mir  unb  atten 
©läut)igen  »on  biefem  gel^ro^enen 
S3rot  i\\  effen,  unb  oon  biefem  ^eld) 
ju  trinlen  befohlen  \)^X,  imb  babei  öer= 
l^eipen :  SrftU(!),  bap  fein  geib  fo  gemip 
für  mid)  am  Äreuj  geopfert  unb  ge^ 
Brocken,  unb  fein  33lut  für  mid)  »er* 
goffen  fei,  fo  gewip  x^  mit  5(ugcn  fe^e, 
bap  ba^  33rot  beö  .^errn  mir  gebrochen, 
unb  ber  ^el(^  mir  mitgett^eitet  irirb ; 
unb  pm  ^nbern,  bap  (Sr  felbft  meine 
(Seele  mit  feinem  gelreujigten  Selb  unb 
üergof[enen  33lut  fo  geirip  ^^um  ewigen 
ßeben  fpeife  unb  tränie,  al^  id)  au^  ber 
^anb  be^  Dienert  empfange  unb  leiblii^ 
27 


Question  75. 
How  is  it  signified  and  sealed 
unto  thee  in  the  Holy  Supper^  that 
thou  dost  partaJce  of  the  one  sacri- 
fice of  Christ  on  the  cross  and  all 
His  benefits  ? 

Answee. 
Thus ;  that  Christ  has  command- 
ed me  and  all  believers  to  eat  of 
this  broken  bread,  and  to  drink  of 
this  cup,  and  has  joined  therewith 
these  promises:  First,  that  His  body 
was  offered  and  broken  on  the  cross 
for  me,  and  His  blood  shed  for  me, 
as  certainly  as  I  see  with  my  eyes 
the  bread  of  the  Lord  broken  for 
me,  and  the  cup  communicated  to 
me;  and  further,  that,  with  His 
crucified  body  and  shed  blood,  He 
Himself  feeds  and  nourishes  my  soul 
to  everlasting  life,  as  certainly  as  I 
receive  from  the  hand  of  the  minis- 


210 


CATECHISMUS. 


ba^  hob  ijttb  ben  Mä)  be^  ^(i^ffi% 
iuelc^e  mir  aU  gemtffc  warjeic^cn  be^ 
leibö  öub  Mut^  S(;rtfti  gegeben  mx^ 
bcn* 

i5tag* 
2Öa^    ^etft   ben    gecren|tgten  tetb 
ß^^rij^i  eJTen,  ün  fein  oergoffen  blut 
trin(Jen  ? 

5tnttt>ort» 
@ö  C)eift  nit  allein  mit  gläubigem 
lernen  ba^  gan|e  leiben  onb  fterben 
G^rifti  annemen,  »nb  barburc^  öerge* 
bung  ber  fünben  önb  emigcö  leben  be^ 
fomen ") :  (Sonber  au(^  barneben  burc^ 
ben  l^eiligen  ®eift,  ber  jugleid)  in  (5^ri^ 
fto  onb  in  ön^  vomtt,  alfo  mit  feinem 
gebenebe^ten  leib  je  me^r  onb  me^r  öer^ 
einiget  tcerben  ^)  :  ba^  mir,  obgleid)  er 
im  ()immetOr  ön  n?ir  auff  erben  fmb: 
bennod)  fleif<^  öon  feinem  fleif«^,  önb 
bein  öon  feinen  beine  fmb*^),  ön  oon 
eine  geift  (wie  bie  glicber  onfer^  teibö 
üon  einer  feelen)  etüig  leben  ünb  regier 
ret  werben  ^)* 

a)  loh.  6.  h)  loh.  6.  c)  Act.  3.  1  Cor.  11. 
d)  Ephes.  3.  et  5.  1  Cor.  6.  1  loh.  3.  et  4.  loh. 
14,     e)  loh,  6.  et  15.  Ephes.  4, 

?5tag. 
5Ö0  '^at  S^riftuö  üerf)eiffen,  bap  er 


nem  et  vinum,  symbola  corporis  et 
sanguinis  Domini  e  manu  ministri 
accepta,  ore  corporis  percipio. 


LXXVI. 

Quid  est  cruciflxum  corpus 
Christi  edere  et  fusum  ejus  san- 
guinem  hihere  ? 

Est  non  tantum  totam  passionem 
et  mortem  Christi  certa  animi  fidu- 
cia  amplecti,  ac  per  id.  remissionem 
peccatorum  et  vitam  seternam  adi- 
pisci ;  sed  etiam  per  Spiritum  Sanc- 
tum, qui  siinul  in  diristo  et  in  no- 
bis habitat,  ita  sacrosancto  ejus 
corpori  magis  ac  magis  uniri,  ut 
quamvis  ipse  in  coelo,  nos  vero  in 
terra  simus,  nihilominus  tarnen  caro 
simus  de  carne  ejus,  et  os  de  ossi- 
bus  ejus;  utque  omnia  corporis 
membra  ab  una  anima,  sie  nos  uno 
eodemque  Spiiitu  vivificemur  et 
gubernemur. 


LXXVII. 

Quo  loco  promisit  Christus^  se 


THE  HEroELBERG  CATECHISM. 


211 


gentepe  ba^  23rot  unb  ben  ^clc^  be^ 
Gerrit,  ml^t  mir  aU  gemiJTe  ^a^x^ 
^tiä)tn  be^  Seiko  unb  Slutö  S^rifti 
gegeben  werben* 

^rage  76* 

Sßa^  l^eift  ben  gelreujigten  Sei^ 
ß^rifli  effen  unb  fein  oergoffene^  S3tut 
trinten  ? 

Hntmort* 
S^  :^ei§t  ni(I)t  allein  mit  gtäu'bigem 
ipergen  baö  ganje  Reiben  unb  (Sterben 
S^rifti  annehmen,  unb  baburd)  3>erge== 
bung  bcr  (Sünben  unb  eit)ige^  Ceben 
belommen ;  fonbern  auc^  baneben  burd) 
ben  l;eiligen  @eift,  ber  juglei(^  in  S^ri* 
fto  unb  in  un^  mo"^net,  alfo  mit  feinem 
gebenebeiten  Seik  je  me^r  unb  mel^r 
oereiniget  n>erben,  bap  mir,  obgteid)  Sr 
im  ^immel,  xmb  mir  auf  (Srben  fmb, 
bennoc^  i^eifd)  üon  feinem  ^leifd)  unb 
23ein  öon  feinem  ©ebeine  fmb,  unb  oon 
einem  (53eij!e,  n?ie  bie  ©lieber  unfereö 
Seibcö  oon  einer  (Seele,  emig  leben  unb 
regiert  werben* 


ter,  and  taste  with  my  moutli,  the 
bread  and  cup  of  the  Lord,  which 
are  given  me  as  certain  tokens  of 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ. 

Question  76. 
What  is   it   to  eat  the  crucified 
body  and  drink  the  shed  hlood  of 
Christ? 

Answek. 
It  is  not  only  to  embrace  with  a 
believing  heart  all  the  sufferings 
and  death  of  Christ,  and  thereby 
to  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  sins 
and  life  eternal ;  but  moreover 
also,  to  be  so  united  more  and 
more  to  His  sacred  body  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  who  dwells  both  in 
Christ  and  in  us,  that  although  He 
is  in  heaven,  and  we  on  the  earth, 
we  are  nevertheless  flesh  of  His 
flesh  and  bone  of  His  bones,  and 
live  and  are  governed  for  ever  by 
one  Spirit,  as  members  of  the  same 
body  are  by  one  soul. 


gragc  77* 
So  ^at  S|rifk0  oer^eipen,  ba^  @r 


Question  7-7. 
Where  has  Christ  promised,  that 


212 


CATECHISMUS. 


bic  gläubigen  fo  gcwtf  atfo  mit  feinem 
leit)  ünb  Hut  fpeife  onb  trenne,  aU  fte 
»on  biefem  gebrod)nett  brob  effen,  otib 
»on  biefem  ^tl^  trinlen  ? 

Sfntwott* 
3n  bet  einfa^ung  beö  5(bcnbmal^, 
meId)eaIfo  lautet 0:  ^^U^  ^^;>(i'^'^ 
^efu^,  in  b«  na(^t  ba  er  oerrf^a* 
ten  marb,  nam  er  ba^  brobt, 
ban(iet  on  bra(^^  önb  fprac^, 
5^emet,  effet,  baö  i|i  mein  leib, 
ber  für  tu 6)  gebroct)en  wirbt, 
(Bolä)^  tl;ut  ju  meiner  gebe^t^ 
nuf»  3)cffelben  gleid)en  au(^ 
ben  Äelci),  nad)  bem  ^benbtmal, 
önb  f^rad):  2)iefer  ^el^  ij!  baö 
ncwe  ^tejiament  in  meinem 
btut,  foId)eö  tl;ut,  fo  offt  jrö 
trinket,  ju  meiner  gebe(^tnuf : 
!Den  fo  offt  jr  üon  biefem  brob 
effet,  onb  ön  biefem  ^tlä)  trin^ 
det,  folt  jr  be^  ^^m^^  tobt 
uerfünbigen,  bi§  baf  er  lom^t* 
25nb  biefe  oer^eiffung  wirbt  au^  toiber^ 
l^olet  burc^  (S.  ^aulum^),  ba  er  fpric^t: 
2) er   Äetd)   ber  ban(!fagung, 

a)  1  Cor,  11.    Matt.  26.    Mar.  14.    Luc.  22. 
b)  1  Cor.  10. 


credentihus  tarn  certo  corpus  et  san- 
guinem  suum  sie  edendum  et  hihen- 
dwm  daturum^  quam  fractum  Jiunc 
panem  edunt,  et  poculum  Jioc  hi- 
hunt  f 


In  institutione  Coenae,  cujus  ligec 
sunt  verba :  Dominus  noster  Jesus 
Christus,  ea  nocte  qua  proditus  est, 
accepit  panem ;  et  gratiis  actis,  fre- 
git  ac  dixit:  Accipite,  comedite, 
lioc  est  corpus  meum,  quod  pro 
vobis  frangitur;  hoc  facite  in  mei 
recordationem.  Itidem  et  poculum 
postquam  ccenassent,  dicens:  Hoc 
poculum  est  novum  foedus  per  me- 
um sanguinem ;  hoc  facite,  quoties- 
cunque  biberitis,  in  mei  recorda- 
tionem. Quotiescunque  enim  ede- 
ritis  panem  liunc,  et  poculum  hoc 
biberitis,  mortem  Domini  annun- 
ciate, donee  venerit.  Haec  promis- 
sio  a  Paulo  repetitur,  cum  inquit: 
Poculum  gratiarum  actionis,  quo 
gratias  agimus,  nonne  communio 
est  sanguinis  Christi  ?  Panis  quem 
frangimus,    nonne    communio    est 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM.  213 

bic  ©IduBigcn  fo  gcwip  alfo  mit  feinem  He  will  thus  feed  and  nourish  he- 

Seit  unb  23tut  fpeife  unb  tränfe,  atö  lievers  with  His  body  and  blood,  as 

fie  öon  biefem  geBro(^enen  33rot  ejTen  certainly  as  they  eat  of  this  broken 

unb  oon  biefem  M^  ttinlen  ?  'bread  and  drink  of  this  cup  ? 

Stntmott»  Answee. 

Stt  ber  (Stnfe^ung  be^  5tbenbma!^t^,  In  the  institution  of  tlie  Supper, 

»elc^c  alfo  lautet:   Unfer    S^txx  wMcli  runs  thus :  The  Lord  Jesus, 

Sefu^,  in  ber  9Zad)t  ba  er  oer^  the  same  night  in  which  He  was 

ratl^en    tuatb,   na^m   dix   baö  betrayed,  took  bread;    and  when 

23rot,  ban!ete,unb1Jrad)eöunb  He  had  given  thanks,  He  brake  it, 

fpra(}):    S^le^met,  effet,  ba^  ift  and  said:   Take,  eat,  this  is  My 

mein  Sei b,  ber  für  eucf)  gebt 0^  body,  which  is  broken   for  you; 

c^en  mirb;  fold)eö  tl;ut  ju  mei*=  this  do  in  remembrance   of  Me. 

nem     ©ebac^tnif*       2)effcl^  After  the  same  manner  also  He 

ben  glct(^en  aud)  ben  Äel^,  took    the    cup,    when    He    had 

nac^    bem    Stbenbma^l,    unb  suj^ped,  saying:   This  cup  is  the 

fprac^:    liefer  ^elc^  ijl  bag  New  Testament  in  My  blood ;  this 

neue    5tej!ament    in    meinem  do  ye  as  often  as  ye  drink  it,  in 

S3lut,  fol(^e^  t^ut,  fo  oft  i!^r  remembrance  of  Me.     For  as  often 

Co  trinfet,  ju  meinem  ®cbd(^t^  as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink 

nif  ♦     X)enn  fo  oft  t^r  oon  bie»»  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's 

fem  23rot  effet,  unb  »on  bie*  death  till  He  come, 

fem  Äel(^  trinlet,  follt   i^r  And   this  promise   is  repeated 

beg  .<perrn  5lob  öer!ünbtgen,  also  by  St.  Paul,  where  he  says: 

l&tg  ba§  Sr  fommt»     Unb  biefe  The    cup  of   blessing  which  we 

S5er'^eifung  wirb  au^  toteber^olet  burc^  bless,  is  it  not  the  communion  of 


214 


CATECmSMUS. 


bamit  toix  bantffagc,  ijl  cr  nit     corporis   Cliristi?    Quoniam   unus 
bic   gemein f(^afft  be^  blut^     panis,  unum  corpus  multi  sumus; 
Si^rijli?     ^a^    brobt    bas   tt>ir     nam  omnes  unius  panis  participes 
^red)en,  if!  ba^  ni(^t  bie  gemein=^     sumus 
fiS^afft  be0  tcibö  S^tijli?    :Den 
<itt  btob  ifi§,  fo  feinb  wir  üiet 
ein  tcib,  bieiueil  »ir  alle  eineö 
brobe  t^eil^afftig  feinb. 


SBirb  ben  au§  brob  onb  iuein  ber 
»efentli^  leib  »nb  blut  S^rifti  ? 

3(ntn)ort* 
5lein :  fonber  wie  ba^  waflfer  in  bent 
Zavi^f  nit  in  bj  Hut  (E^rifti  öerwäblet, 
ober  bie  abmaJTd)img  ber  funben  felbj! 
»irb,  beren  eö  altein  ein  ©ottlicj)  mar^ 
geicf)en  önb  öerfi(^erung  ift  ^) :  alfo 
wirbt  and)  bj  Zeitig  brob  int  ^benbntal 
nit  b.  leib  (E^rifti  fetbft*'),  \mml  eö 
na(^  art  önb  brauch  ber  ©acrantenten*"), 
ber  leib  S^rifti  genennet  wirb* 

o)  Matt.  26.    Mar.  24.     i)  1  Cor.  10.  et  11, 
c)  Gen.  17.  Exod.  12.  Tit.  3.  1  Pet.  3.  1  Cor.  10. 

f^rag. 
SBaruntb  nennet  benn  S§ri|k^  bas 


LXXVIII. 

JVum  ergo  panis  et  vinum  fiunt 
ipsum  corpus  et  sanguis  Christi  f 

Nequaquam:  verum,  ut  aqua 
Baptismi  in  sanguinem  Cliristi  non 
convertitur,  nee  est  ipsa  peccatorum 
ablutio,  sed  symbolum  tantum  et 
pignus  earum  rerum,  quae  nobis  in 
Baptismo  obsignantur ;  ita  nee  pa- 
nis Coenae  Dominica3  est  ipsum  cor- 
pus Christi,  quanquam  pro  ratione 
sacramentorum,  et  usitata  Spiritui 
Sancto  de  his  loquendi  forma,  panis 
Cliristi  corpus  appellatui*. 

LXXIX. 

Cw  ergo  Christus  panem  appel- 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


215 


(BU  ^aulum,  ba  et  fptic^t:  X)er 
Äel(^  bet  !2)attffagung,  bamtt 
njir  banlfagen,  i|^  er  nid)t  bie 
©emetnf(^aft  beö  23luteä  (^^xu 
fit?  !I)a^  Srot,  baö  WIT  t)re^ 
c()en,  ift  bag  ni(^t  bie  ©emctn^ 
fc^aft  beö  Ceibe^  S^riflt? 
2)ettn  (Sin  23rot  i|!  c^,  fo  fittb 
njir  üiele  Sin  Seit),  bie  weit 
mir  alle  ^inc^  53rot«  t^cil^af^ 
tig  finb. 

i^rage  78. 
SBirb  benn  an^  23rot  unb  2Öein  ber 
ttjefentUi^e  Ceib  unb  23Iut  e()rifti? 

^nttooxt. 
^dnt  fonbern  mie  ba^  SBaffer  in 
ber  5laufe  ni(^t  in  ba^  33lnt  S^rijli 
öerwanbelt,  ober  bie  SlBmafc^img  ber 
©ünben  felbj!  mirb,  beren  eö  aüein  ein 
göttU<^eö  2Öa()rjeic{)en  iinb  S^erfK^erung 
ifl;  alfo  tDtrb  auc^  ba^  l)eiUge  23rot 
im  5tbenbma^l  ni(i)t  ber  Seib  ß^rifti 
fdbjl:,  iDiewo'^I  eö  nac^  5(rt  unb  ®e^ 
Brauci)  ber  (Sacrantente  ber  Ceib  S^rifti 
genennet  wirb* 

grage  79. 
SOBarum  nennet  benn  S^rijtu^  ba^ 


the  blood  of  Chiist?  The  bread 
which  we  break,  is  it  not  the  com- 
munion of  the  body  of  Christ  ?  For 
we,  being  many,  are  one  bread,  and 
one  body ;  for  we  are  all  partakers 
of  that  one  bread. 


Question  78. 
Do  then  the  hread  andwine  become 
the  real  body  and  hlood  of  Christ  f 

Answee. 
No :  but  as  the  water,  in  Bap- 
tism, is  not  changed  into  the  blood 
of  Christ,  nor  becomes  the  washing 
away  of  sins  itself,  being  only  the 
divine  token  and  assurance  there- 
of; so  also,  in  the  Lord's  Supper, 
the  sacred  bread  does  not  become 
the  body  of  Christ  itself,  though 
agreeably  to  the  nature  and  usage 
of  sacraments  it  is  called  the  body 
of  Christ. 

Question  79. 
Why  then  doth  Christ  call  the 


216 


CATECHISMUS. 


t)rob  feinen  leib,  on  ben  ^etc^  fein  Blut, 
ober  baö  newe  5leftamet  in  feinem  Mut, 
»nb  (B*  ^auluö,  bie  gemeinf(^ap  beö 
lcit)gönbHutg3efu(S^vijli? 

Antwort* 
S^Tijht^  rebet  atfo  nit  one  gtojfe  ot^ 
fac^*  5Iemli(^,  baf  er  ön^  nit  aUdn 
bamit  ml  letzten,  bap,  gleid)  n)ie  l^rob 
ün  wein  baö  jeitlic^e  leben  erhalten,  alfo 
fe^  auc^  fein  gecreu^igter  leib  onb  oct^ 
goffen  Mut,  bie  mare  fpei^  öit  txanä 
unferer  feelen,  jum  ewigen  leben ') : 
fonber  öiel  me(;r  ba§  er  önö  bur^  bi§ 
fic^tbare  jei(^en  onb  pfanb  roll  oer* 
filtern,  ba§  ii?ir  fo  i»arl)ajftig  feinet 
waren  leibö  onb  blutö  burc^  Wirkung 
be0  ^eilige  ©eijl^  teil()afftig  werben, 
dU  wir  biefe  ^eilige  warjei(^en,  mit 
bem  Ieibli($e  munb  ju  feiner  gebec^tnup 
empfangen^):  on  bap  alt  fein  leiben  on 
ge()orfam  fo  gewi§  onfer  eige  fe)^,  aU 
l^ette  wir  felbft  in  onfer  eige  :perfon  atteö 
gelitten  on  gnugget^an* 

a)  loh.  6.     b)  1  Cor.  10. 

grag* 
Sßa^  iji  für  ein  onberf(^eib  jwifi^en 


lat  suum  corpus^  cdlicem  vero  suum 
sanguinem^  seu  novuTn  foedus  per 
suum  sanguinem  /  Paulus  item  pa- 
nem  et  virm/m^  com/munionem  cor- 
poris et  sanguinis  Christi  f 

Cliristus  non  sine  gravi  causa  sie 
loquitur  :^  videlicet,  non  solum  ut 
nos  doceat,  quemadmodum  panis 
et  vinum  corporis  vitam  susten- 
tant,  sie  etiam  crucifixum  suum 
corpus  et  effusum  suum  sanguinem 
vere  esse  animse  nostras  cibum  ac 
potum,  quo  ad  vitam  seternam  nu- 
triatur ;  verum  multo  magis,  ut  lioc 
visibili  signo  ac  pignore  nobis  cer- 
tum  faciat,  nos  non  minus  vere  cor- 
poris et  sanguinis  sui,  per  opera- 
tionem  Spiritus  Sancti,  participes 
esse,  quam  sacra  ista  symbola,  in 
ejus  memoriam,  ore  corporis  perci- 
pimus :  tum  etiam,  quod  ejus  pas- 
sio  et  obedientia  tam  certo  nostra 
sit,  quam  si  ipsimet  pro  nostris  pec- 
catis  poenas  dedissemus,  et  Deo  sa- 
tisfecissemus. 


Quid 


LXXX. 

interest     inter 


Coenam 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


217 


23rot  feinen  Mb,  unb  ben  Äeld)  fein 
23lut,  ober  baö  neue  itejlament  in  fei^ 
nem  23lut ;  nnb  (St.  ^aulu6,  bie  ®e^ 
meinfc^aft  bee  ßeike  nnb  Sinter  3^fu 
e^rifti? 

5(ntmort* 
S^rijluö  rebet  atfo  nxä^t  o^ne  grof  e 
Urfa(^e:  nämlicJ),  baf  ßr  nnö  nic^t 
allein  bamit  njitt  leieren,  baf ,  gleic^mie 
23rot  nnb  SÖein  baö  seitliche  Sekn  er^ 
l^atten,  alfo  fei  au(^  fein  gefreujigter 
Seib  nnb  oetgoffeneö  23lut  bie  n?a^te 
(Speife  nnb  ^ran!  nnferet  (Seelen  ^nm 
einigen  Sekn;  fonbern  oielmel^r,  ba^ 
(Sr  nnö  bnrc^  biefee  fti^tbare  3cict)en 
nnb  ^fanb  XüiU  öerfid)ern,  ba§  mir  fo 
nja^r^aftig  feineö  ttja^ren  Seiko  nnb 
Hutee  bntd)  2ßit!nng  beö  ^eiligen 
©eij^eö  t()eill)aftig  n?efben,  aU  mir 
biefe  l^eiligen  Sßa^rjeic^en  mit  bem  leiB^ 
liefen  50?unb  jn  feinem  ©ebäc^tnif 
empfangen;  nnb  baf  aU  fein  Reiben 
unb  @el;orfam  fo  gemif  nnfer  eigen 
fei,  aU  ^ätttn  n?ir  felbj^  in  nnferer 
eigenen  ^etfon  attee  gelitten  nnb  genng 
get^an. 


h?'ead  His  hody^  and  the  cup  His 
blood,  or  the  New  Testament  in  His 
Uood ;  and  St.  Haul,  the  commu- 
nion  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ? 

AisrswEE. 
Christ  speaks  tlius  not  without 
great  cause :  namely,  not  only  to 
teach  us  thereby,  that,  like  as  bread 
and  wine  sustain  this  temporal  life, 
so  also  His  crucified  body  and  shed 
blood  are  the  true  meat  and  drink 
of  our  souls  unto  life  eternal ;  but 
much  more,  by  this  visible  sign  and 
pledge  to  assure  us,  that  we  are  as 
really  partakers  of  His  true  body 
and  blood,  through  the  working  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  as  we  receive  by 
the  mouth  of  the  body  these  holy 
tokens  in  remembrance  of  Him; 
and  that  all  His  sufferings  and  obe- 
dience are  as  certainly  our  own,  as 
if  we  had  ourselves  suffered  and 
done  all  in  our  ovm  persons. 


i^tage  8  0*  Question  80. 

ÜÖaö  ijl  für  ein  Unterf^ieb  jn)if($en        What  difference  is  there  between 
28 


218 


CATECHISMUS. 


bem  SfBenbntal  be^  ^(imm%  önb  ber 

%nUvoxt. 
2)a^  5(knbmal  kjeuget  on^,  ba^ 
jDir  üollontenc  oergebung  alter  önfer 
fünben  i^aben,  bur(^  ba^  einige  op^tx 
Sefu  ß^^rtfti,  fo  er  felbft  einmal  am 
creu|  öolbrai^t  ^at^)*  S5nb  ba^  mir 
burc^  ben  ^*  ©eift  (ir;ri|l:o  merbe  ein= 
geleibt  ^),  b*  jepb  mit  feine  waren  leib 
im  :^imel  jur  9le(^ten  be^  3}aterö  ift  "^), 
önb  bafelbft  mil  angebettet  werben '^)» 
2)ie  93Ze§  aber  lel;ret,  bap  bie  lebenbigen 
unb  bie  tobten  nic^t  burc^  baö  leiben 
ß^^rifti  oergebnng  ber  fünben  l)aben,  eö 
fe^  benn  ba§  S^riftnö  no^  tdglic^  für 
fie  oon  ben  ^SJJef^prieftern  geo^jfert  wer- 
be* SSnb  bj  (S^riftu^  leiblid)  onb*  ber 
geftalt  brobö  on  wetnö  fe^,  onb  ber^al* 
ben  barin  fol  angebettet  werbe")* 
[35nb  ifi  alfo  bie  ^t^  im  grnnb  ni(^t^ 
anber^,  benn  ein  oerlengnnng  beö  eini* 
gen  opffer^  ön  Icibenö  ^i\u  S^rifti,  önb 
ein  oermalcbeite  ^bgottere^J 

a)  Heb.  7.  9.  et  10.  loh.  19.  Matt.  26.  Luc. 
22.  b)  1  Cor.  6.  et  10.  c)  Heb.  1.  et  8.  d)  lob. 
4.  et  20.  Luc.  24.  Act.  7.  Coloss.  3.  Phil.  3. 
1  Thess.  1.  (?)  In  Can:  de  Missa.  Item.  De 
cöseer:  distinct:  2. 


Domini,      et     Missam     Papisti- 
camf 

Coena  Domini  nobis  testatur,  nos 
perfectam  remissionem  omnium  nos- 
tromm  peccatorum  habere,  propter 
unicum  illud  Christi  sacrificium, 
quod  ipsemet  semel  in  cruce  pere- 
git;  tum  etiam  nos  per  Spiritum 
Sanctum  inseri  Christo,  qui  jam  se- 
cundum naturam  suam  humanam 
tantum  in  ccelis  est  ad  dexteram 
Patris,  ibique  vult  a  nobis  adorari. 
In  Missa  autem  negatur,  vivos 
et  mortuos  habere  remissionem 
peccatorum  propter  unicam  Christi 
passionem,  nisi  etiamnum  quotidie 
Christus  pro  ipsis  a  sacrificulis 
offeratur ;  tuin  etiam  docetur,  Chris- 
tum corporaliter  sub  speciebus  pa- 
nis  et  vini  esse,  ideoque  in  illis 
adorandum  esse.  [Atque  ita  ipsum 
Missse  fandamentum  nihil  aliud 
est,  quam  abnegatio  unici  illius 
sacrificii  et  passionis  Jesu  Christi, 
et  execranda  idololatria.] 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


219 


t)cm  5(Benbma^l  bee  ipetrn  unb  ber 
^)äpj^U($en  2)Jeffe  ? 

2)ae  5(Benbma^I  t)ejeuget  une,  baf 
njtr  ooWotnntene  33etgeBuTtg  alter  un^ 
feret  ©ünben  ^abm  butcf)  baö  einige 
£)^fer  3efu  S^tijli,  fo  St  felBjl:  einmal 
am  Äreu^  öot(6ra(i)t  'i)at ;  unb  ba^  mir 
burd)  ben  ^eiligen  ©eifl  S^rifto  werben 
einoerleiBet,  ber  je^t  mit  feinem  magren 
^tih  im  ipimmet  jur  $Re(i)ten  beö  33a* 
ter^  ijl,  nnb  bafelbft  mitl  angebetet 
»erben*  X)te  SO'JeJTe  aber  lehret,  ba^ 
bie  2et)enbigen  unb  bie  2!obten  nic^t 
burc^  baö  !2eiben  (SI;rifti  S5ergebung  ber 
(Sünben  ^aben,  ee  fei  benn,  ba§  S^rif^uö 
no^  täglich  für  fte  öon  ben  5!)Zepprieftern 
geopfert  tt)erbe ;  unb  ba§  S()ri|^uö  leib^ 
Ii(^  unter  ber  ©eftalt  S3rote  unb 
SBeinö  fei,  unb  ber^alben  barin  foK 
angebetet  werben*  [Unb  ift  alfo  bie 
9J?ejfe  im  ©runbe  nid)te  anberö,  benn 
eine  S5erläugnung  beg  einigen  Dpfere 
unb  ßeibenö  3efu  S^rifti,  unb  eine 
öermalebeite  5(Bgötteret*] 


the  Zorans  Supper  and  the  Poj^ish 
Mass?   . 

Answee. 
Tlie  Lord's  Supper  testifies  to  us, 
that  we  have  full  forgiveness  of  all 
our  sins  by  the  one  sacrifice  of 
Jesus  Christ,  which  He  Himself 
has  once  accomplished  on  the  cross ; 
and  that  by  the  Holy  Ghost  we  are 
ingrafted  into  Christ,  who  with 
His  true  body  is  now  in  heaven 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father, 
and  is  to  be  there  worshipped. 
But  the  Mass  teaches,  that  the  liv- 
ing and  the  dead  have  not  forgive- 
ness of  sins  through  the  sufi>3rings 
of  Christ,  unless  Christ  is  still  daily 
ofiered  for  them  by  the  priests; 
and  that  Christ  is  bodily  under  the 
form  of  bread  and  wine,  and  is 
therefore  to  be  worshipped  in 
them.  [And  thus  the  Mass  at  bot- 
tom is  nothing  else  than  a  denial 
of  the  one  sacrifice  and  passion 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  an  accursed 
idolatry.] 


220 


CATECHISI^njS. 


2ÖeI(^e    foKc    ju    bent    ^ifc^    be^ 

^ie  jnen  fettjl:  ömB  jter  fünbcn  mil^ 
ten  tni^fatten,  on  bod)  uertramen,  baf 
btefelMge  jt)nen  oerjte'^cn  »nb  bie  öBrigc 
f(J)n)ad)t;ctt  nttt  bent  leiben  önb  jlerBen- 
g^rtfti  bebedt  fei^,  l)egeren  ana)  je  nte'^r 
ünb  nte^r  jren  glauben  ju  fterden  önb 
Jr  leiten  ju  beffern*  5)te  onbu^fertigc 
abtx  on  ^eu^ter,  effen  on  tTm(fett  jnen 
felbj^ba^  gerieft  0* 

a)  1  Cor.  10.  et  11. 

(BoUtn  alcx  pi  biefent  ?(benbntat 
and)  jugekffen  lüerben,  bie  ftd)  mit  jrer 
Belantnuf  onb  leBen,  aU  önglaubige 
önb  ©ottlofe  erzeigen  ? 
^ntmort» 

^f^etn :  benn  c^  mirbt  alfo  ber  33tinbt 
©otte^  gefc^ntecj)t,  önb  fein  jotn  ober 
bie  gan|e  gentein  getei^et^)*  X'et'^al^ 
Im  bie  (St)riftUc^e  Äirc^  fc^tilbig  x% 
na^  ber  orbnung  ß^^rijli  ön  feiner 
Stpoj^etn,  foI(^e,  M§  ju  tefferung  jre^ 
lebend,  bur(^  bj  antpt  ber  (Sc^tüffel 
auöjuf(^Iie|fen* 

a)  1  Cor.  11.  Esai.  1.  et  66.  lerem.  7.  Psal.  50. 


LXXXI. 

Quihus  accedendum  est  ad  men- 
sam  Domini  f 

lis  tantiim,  qiii  vere  dolent  se 
suis  peccatis  Deum  offendisse ;  con- 
fidunt  autem  sibi  ea  propter  Cliris- 
tum  reniissa  esse,  et  quas  reliquas 
habent  iDfirmitates,  eas  passione  et 
morte  illius  obtectas  esse,  magisque 
ac  magis  desiderant  in  fide  et  inte- 
gritate  vitse  proficere.  Hypocritae 
autem,  et  qui  non  vere  resipiscunt, 
damnationem  sibi  edunt  et  bibunt. 

LXXXII. 

Suntne  Uli  etiain  ad  Jianc  Coe- 
nawj  admittendi,  qui  confessione  ei 
vita  se  infideles  et  impios  esse  de- 
clarant f 

Nequaquam:  nam  eo  pacto  foe- 
dus  Dei  profanatur,  et  ira  Dei  in 
Universum  coetum  concitatur ;  quo- 
circa  Ecclesia,  ex  prsescripto  Christi 
et  Apostolorum,  clavibus  regni  coe- 
lorum  utens,  lios  a  Coena  arcere  de« 
bet,  quoad  resipuerint  et  mores 
mutaverint. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


221 


S©el(J)c  fotten  junt  Xi^t  be^  ^enn 
lommen  ? 

2)ie  fi^  felbjl  urn  i^rer  (Sünben 
»tuen  mißfallen,  xtnb  boc^  oerttauen, 
baf  biefelMgen  tl;nen  üerjie^en,  unb  bte 
xikige  ®(^n)ad)§ett  mit  bem  Selben  unb 
(Sterben  d^rifti  Wctdt  fei;  bege()ren 
auc^  Je  me^r  unb  mt^x  i^ren  ©laufen 
gu  l^drlen  unb  i^r  Seben  ju  te|Tetn> 
^ic  Untju^fertigen  al^er  unb  ipeud)ler 
eJTen  unb  trinfen  fi(^  felbjl  baö  ®e* 
tic^t> 

^tage  82» 

©olten  a'ber  ju  biefem  5(benbmaH 
au^  jugetaffen  »erben,  bie  fid)  mit 
i'^rem  33elenntnip  unb  Ceben  alö  Un= 
glduMgc  unb  ©ottlofe  er jeigen  ? 
5(ntn)ort* 

^^lein :  benn  eö  mirb  alfo  ber  23unb 
(S5otte0  gefc^mä^et,  unb  fein  3otn  über 
bie  ganje  ©emeinbe  gereijet;  ber^al^ 
Ben  bie  d)riftli(!)e  £ir(J)e  fd)ulbig  ijl, 
naä}  ber  Orbnung  S^rifti  unb  feiner 
5lpoM,  fot(^e  bio  gur  S3efferung  Ü^reö 
gebend  burc^  ba^  5(mt  ber  (S(^lü|fel 
auöjuf(^Iie§en* 


Question  81. 
Who  are  to  come  unto  the  fahle 
of  the  Lord  f 

Answer. 
Those  who  are  displeased  with 
themselves  for  their  sins,  yet  trust 
that  these  are  forgiven  them,  and  ^ 
that  their  remaining  infirmity  is 
covered  by  the  passion  and  death 
of  Christ;  who  also  desire  more 
and  more  to  strengthen  their  faith 
and  amend  theii*  life.  But  the  im- 
penitent and  hypocrites  eat  and 
drink  judgment  to  themselves. 

Question  82. 
Are  they  then  also  to  he  admitted 
to  this  Sufppei\  who  show  themselves 
to  he^  hy  their  confession  and  life^ 
unhelieving  and  ungodly  f 

Answee. 
No:  for  by  this  the  covenant 
of  God  is  profaned,  and  His  wrath 
provoked  against  the  whole  con- 
gregation ;  wherefore  the  Christian 
Church  is  bound,  according  to  the 
order  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles, 
by  the  office  of  the  keys  to  exclude 
such  persons,  until  they  amend 
their  life. 


222 


CATECHISMUS. 


2öaö  {ft  ba^  am)()t  bet  (Scj)tüffel? 

X)ie  95reb{g  beö  l^eiltge  (guangeltottö 
unb  bie  S^rtftU(^e  SSufjuc^t,  bur(^ 
mlä)i  Be^be  ftutf,  bj  ^immelreti^  ben 
glaubigen  aujfgef(^toffen,  önb  ben  »n^ 
glaubigen  pge.f(^loffen  mirb* 

^tag* 

2ßie  wirb  ba^  ipimmelreic^  but(^  bie 
^jtebig  be^  ^eiligen  (Euangelion^  auff 
Dub  jugef(^lo[fen  ? 

5tntnjort* 

5(tfo :  ba§  nac^  bem  befetcf)  S^rij^i 
aHen  ynb  jeben  gläubigen  oerlünbigt 
unb  öffentlich  bezeuget  mitb  jne  fo 
offt  fte  bie  üer^ciffung  be^  ©uangelion^ 
tnit  xoaxtm  glauben  annemen,  n>ar(;aff^ 
tig  alte  jre  fünben  oon  @ott,  öntb  beö 
jjerbienftö  ß^rifti  luilte,  »ergebe  ftnb> 
SSnb  l^ermiberumb,  aKen  ungläubigen 
ünb  ^eu(i)lern,  ba§  ber  jorn  ©otteö  on 
bie  ewige  oerbamnup  auff  Jnen  ligt,  fo 
lang  fte  fic^  nit  beleren  ^):  9Za(^  welche 
^eugnu^  beö  (^uangeli},  @ott  beibe  in 
biefem  onb  julünfftigen  leben  ört^eilen 
lüiL 

a)  lob.  20.  Matt.  16. 


LXXXIII. 

Quid  sunt  Claves  regni  coelorumf 

Prsedicatio  Evangelii  et  Eccle- 
siastica  Disciplina,  quibus  coeluin 
credentibus  aperitur,  infidelibus 
autem  clauditur. 

LXXXIV. 

Quo  pacto  aperitur  et  clauditur 
regnum  coelorum,  Prcedicatione 
Evangelii  f 

Cum  ex  mandato  Christi  creden- 
tibus, universis  et  singulis,  publice 
annunciatur,  omnia  peccata  ipsis 
divinitus  propter  meritum  Ckristi 
condonari,  quoties  promissionem 
Evangelii  vera  fide  amplectuntur ; 
contra  vero  omnibus  infidelibus  et 
liypocritis  denunciatur,  tantisper 
ipsis  iram  Dei  et  seternam  condem- 
nationem  incumbere,  dum  in  suis 
sceleribus  perseverant :  secundum 
quod  Evangelii  testimonium,  Dens 
tam  in  prsesenti  quam  in  futura 
vita  judicatui'us  est. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


223 


2Öa6  ifl  ba^  fct  ber  @cj)Iüp? 
Antwort. 

X)te  ^rebigt  be^  !^etttgen  (^oangelt^ 
utnö  imb  bie  d)riftli(^e  23uf  jud)t ;  bur^ 
tüeld)e  kibe  @tMc,  baö  ^ttnmelretd) 
ben  ©läuBtgen  aufgefdjioffen  unb  ben 
Ungläubigen  5ugef(^Ioffen  lühb* 

grage  84* 

2ßie  wirb  baö  ^immetretc^  bnr(^  bic 
^rebigt  beö  ^eiligen  ßöangetiuntö  auf=* 
unb  jiigefd)Iof[en  ? 

5(ntJuott, 

HIfo,  baf?  na(!)  bem  33efe^I  (If)Tt|!i 
alten  imb  jeben  ©laubigen  oerlünbigt 
unb  öjtentlid)  bezeuget  mirb,  baf  i(;nen, 
fü  oft  fie  bie  25erl)ei|5ung  be^  (Soange^ 
liumö  mit  mattem  ©lauben  annel;men, 
iDaI;rl)aftig  alte  i^te  (Sünben  üon  Oott, 
um  be^  ißerbienfte^  &)x\fti  iDÜten,  öer* 
geben  fmb  ;  unb  ^inmiebetum  alten  Un^ 
gläubigen  unb  ^eui^tern,  baf  ber  Born 
©otteö  xinb  bie  emige  33erbammnip  auf 
i^nen  liegt,  fo  lange  fte  fid)  nic^t  be= 
feilten:  na(^  iuet^em  B^iig^i^  beö 
©öangeliumö,  ®ott  beibe  in  biefem  unb 
bem  julünftigen  Seben  urt^eilen  Witt* 


Question  83. 
What  is  the  Oßce  of  the  Keys  f 

Answee. 
The  Preaching  of  the  Holy- 
Gospel  and  Church  Discipline ;  by 
which  two  things,  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  opened  to  believers  and 
shut  against  unbelievers. 

Question  84. 
How  is  the  Mngdom  of  heaven 
opened  and  shut  hy  the  Preaching 
of  the  Holy  Gospel  f 

Answer. 
In  this  way:  that  according  to 
the  command  of  Christ,  it  is  pro- 
claimed and  openly  witnessed  to 
believers,  one  and  all,  that  as  often 
as  they  accept  with  true  faith  the 
promise  of  the  Gospel,  all  their  sins 
are  really  forgiven  them  of  God 
for  the  sake  of  Christ's  merits ;  and 
on  the  contrary,  to  all  unbelievers 
and  hypocrites,  that  the  wrath  of 
God  and  eternal  condemnation 
abide  on  them,  so  long  as  they  are 
not  converted :  according  to  which 
witness  of  the  Gospel,  will  be  the 
judgment  of  God  both  in  this  life 
and  in  that  which  is  to  come. 


224 


CATECHISMUS. 


2ßic  mxU  ba^  ^immelrel^  ju  onb 
auffgef(^Ioffen,    burc^    bie    ß^riftticbe 

m\o :  bap  na(^  bem  befelcj)  S^rij^i, 
bieienige  fo  onber  bem  (I()tiftlid)e  na^ 
men,  ön^tij^Uc^e  lel)r  ob*  wanbel  füre, 
nac^  bem  fie  ettic^  mal  brüb erlief  öer^ 
mattet  fein,  onb  jren  jrt^men  ober 
laftern  nit  abf^e()en,  ber  !ird)en,  ober 
benen  fo  üon  ber  tixä^l  barju  öerorbnet 
fmb,  angezeigt,  üit  fo  fie  ft<^  an  berfelbe 
üermammg  auc^  nit  leren,  oon  Jnen 
bur(^  oerbietung  ber  ^eilige  (Sacrament 
auf  ber  S^riftlid)c  gemein,  ön  öon  @ott 
felbft,  auf  bem  3^ei(J)  (E()rifti  merben 
auf gefc^loffen :  ön  liberum  aU  gtiebcr 
ß:^rifti  önb  ber  lir^en,  angenomen, 
wen  fie  ware  befferung  oer'^eiffen  on 
crjeigen')* 

ö)  Matt.  18.  1  Cor.  3.  2  Tliess.  3.  2  loh. 


LXXXV. 

Qtio  pacto  clauditur  et  aperitur 
regnum  coelorum  per  Disciplinam 
JEcclesiasticam  f 

Cum  ex  mandato  Christi,  ii,  qui 
nomine  quidem  sunt  Cliristiani, 
verum  doctrina  aut  vita  se  osten- 
dunt  a  Cliristo  alienos,  postquam 
aliquoties  fraterne  admoniti  ab  er- 
roribus  aut  flagitiis  discedere  no- 
lunt,  Ecclesiae  indicantur,  aut  iis 
qui  ab  Ecclesia  ad  earn  rem  sunt 
constituti ;  ac  si  ne  horum  quidem 
admonitioni  pareant,  ab  iisdem  in- 
terdictione  sacramentorum  ex  coetu 
Ecclesi»,  et  ab  ipso  Deo  ex  regno 
Cliristi,  excluduntur :  ac  rursum,  si 
emendationem  profiteantur  et  re- 
ipsa  declarent,  tanquam  Cliristi  et 
Ecclesiae  membra  recipiuntur. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


225 


gragc  85* 

2Bie  mtrb  ba^  iplmmetreid)  ju^  unb 
aufgcfc^lolTen  but(^  bte  ^rirtUd)e  23up^ 

mfo,  ha^  m^  bent  Sefe^l  S^rifti 
biejemgen,  fo  unter  bem  ^rtftUi^en  ^a* 
men  unc^riftU(^e  Ce^re  ober  Sßanbel 
fii^^ren,  nad)bem  ftc  etlichemal  trüber^ 
Itc^  »ermaßet  fmb,  unb  öon  {"^ren  3tr=* 
t^ümern  ober  Saj^ern  Vtd)t  aBfte^en, 
ber  ^irct)e,  ober  benen  fo  oon  ber  Äirc^c 
baju  öerorbnet  fmb,  angejeiget,  nnb  fo 
fte  fid)  an  berfelben  S5erma^nung  auä) 
mä)t  leieren,  üon  i^^nen  burc^  3}erBtc^ 
tung  ber  l^eiltgen  ©acramente  an^  ber 
c^riftttc^en  ©emetne,  unb  oon  ®ott 
felf)|^  auö  bem  9Rei^  (S^rijli  werben 
auögefd)Io|Ten;  unb  mieberum  aU  @Iie^ 
ber  S^rifti  unb  ber  ^ixä}t  angenommen, 
toenn  fte  ioa^re  SSefferung  öer^eipen  unb 
erzeigen* 


Question  85. 
How  is  the  Tcingdom  of  Tieaven 
shut  and  opened  hy  Church  Dis- 
cipline f 

Answee. 
In  this  way:  that  according  to 
the  command  of  Christ,  if  any  un- 
der the  Christian  name  show  them- 
selves unsound  either  in  doctrine 
or  life,  and  after  repeated  brotherly 
admonition  refuse  to  turn  from 
their  errors  or  evil  ways,  they  are 
complained  of  to  the  church  or  to 
its  proper  officers,  and,  if  they  neg- 
lect to  hear  them  also,  are  by  them 
excluded  from  the  Holy  Sacraments 
and  the  Christian  communion,  and 
by  God  Himself  from  the  kingdom 
of  Christ ;  and  if  they  promise  and 
show  real  amendment,  they  are 
again  received  as  members  of  Christ 
and  His  Chmch. 


29 


226 


CATECHISMIJS. 


S)cr  Mit  Xtü. 


TERTIA  PARS. 


SJon  bcr  bandhaxUit,        de  hominis  gratitüdine. 


DicuJeil  mir  benn  auf  unferm  elenbt 
one  alle  onfere  öerbienjl,  auf  gnaben 
bur^  ß^rifium  erlofet  feinb,  marumi) 
fotlen  voll  gute  mxd  tl;un  ? 

5(nttt)ort* 
T)arumB,  baf  S^rifiu^,  nac^  bem  er 
»n^  mit  feinem  Hut  erlaujft  ^at,  önö 
auc^  huxä)  feine  l^eitige  ©eift  erneuert 
ju  feinem  etent)ilbt,  baf  mir  mit  ön^ 
ferm  ganzen  lekn  »n^  band^ar  gegen 
©Ott  fur  feine  njott^^at  erzeigen''),  ön 
er  bur(^  ünö  ge^riefen  tt?erbe^),  2)ar* 
nac^  auc^,  ^a^  mir  tet>  on^  felbjl  ün^ 
ferö  glauBen^  auf  feinen  frud[>ten  gemif 

o)  Rom.  6.  et  12.  1  Pet.  2.  1  Cor.  6.    l)  Matt. 
5.  1  Pet.  2. 


LXXXVI. 

Cum  ah  omnibus  peccatis  et  mir 
seriis^  sine  ullo  nostro  merito^  sola 
Dei  m,isericordia^  per  Christum 
liherati  sumus,  quid  est  cur  bona 
opera  faciamus  f 

Quia  postquam  nos  Christus  suo 
sanguine  redemit,  renovat  nos  quo 
que  suo  Spiritu  ad  imaginem  sui, 
ut  tantis  beneficiis  affecti,  in  omni 
vita  nos  erga  Deum  gratos  declare- 
mus,  et  ipse  per  nos  celebretui'. 
Deinde,  ut  nos  quoque  ex  fructi- 
bus de  sua  quisque  fide  certi  si- 
mus.     Postremo,   ut  vitae    nostrse 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


221 


S)er  hxittt  X^til 


THE  THIED  PART. 


$on  tier  ^an!Bar!ett* 


OF  THANKFULNESS 


S^rage  8  6*  Question  86. 

!Dtctt)cit  tüit  benn  axiö  unferm  (Stcnb,         Since  tlien  we  are  redeemed  from 

o^ne  alt  unfer  3>erbien|!,  auö  (Bnaben  our  misery  ^Ixj  grace  ihrougli  Christy 

burd)  S(;riftum  erlöfet  fmb,  »arum  fol^  without  any  merit  of  ours,  why 

ten  mx  gute  2ßer!e  t^un  ?  must  we  do  good  worJcs  f 


Sfntnjott» 
Darum,  bap  d^rij^u^,  nad)bem  Sr 
unö  mit  feinem  23Iut  erlauft  (;at,  un^ 
au(^  burcj)  feinen  ]5)eiligen  ©eift  erneu^ 
ert  gu  feinem  (Jknbitb,  ba§  »ir  mit 
unferm  ganjen  CeBen  un^  banlbar  gegen 
©Ott  fur  feine  SBo^tt^^at  erzeigen,  unb 
(Sr  burc^  unö  gepriefen  »erbe.  2)ar^ 
nad)  au^,  bap  mir  fcei  unö  feIB|l:  un^ 
fer^  ©lau^en^  au^  feinen    §rücj>ten 


Answee. 
Because  Christ,  having  redeemed 
us  by  His  blood,  renews  us  also  by 
His  Holy  Spirit  after  His  own  im- 
age, that  with  our  whole  life  we 
may  show  ourselves  thankful  to 
God  for  His  blessing,  and  that  He 
may  be  glorified  through  us ;  then 
also,  that  we  ourselves  may  be 
assured  of  our  faith  by  the  fruits 


228 


CATECHISMUS. 


feilt  0,  ünb  mit  ünfcrm  ©ottfelige  toan^ 
bet,  önfere  nec^j^en  auä)  S^rij^o  gewinn 
nen^)* 

c)  2  Pet.  1.   Matt.  7.   Galat.  6.     d)  1  Pet.  3. 
Korn.  14. 

Äonnen  benn  bie  ni^t  feiig  Werben, 
bic  ftc^  öon  item  önbantfbaten  üuBu^^ 
fertigen  »anbei  ju  @ott  ni(^t  l)e^ 
leren  ? 

Slntwort* 

Äeine^weg^:  benn,  Juic  bic  fc()rifft 
faget:  ^ein  S5n!euffc^er,  Slbgottifc^er, 
S^e6re(I)er,  2)ieB,  ©einiger,  2;rnnden=* 
^ol^,  Seigerer,  S^lanBer  ünb  bergtei(^en, 
tüirb  ba^  reic^  ©otteö  erBen*)» 

a)  1  Cor.  6.  Ephes.  5.  1  loh.  3. 

^tag. 
3n  »ieöiet  jUto  fielet  bie  »ar^* 
l^afftigc  S3up  ober  belerung  beö  men* 
f^en? 

5(nt»ort* 
Sn  jwe^en  jttifen:  3n  a^fterBung 
be^  alten "),  ön  anfferjie^ng  beö  newen 
menf(J)ett» 

ä)  Rom.  6.  Ephes.  4.  Oolosa.  3.  1  Cor.  5. 

^tag* 
2ßa^  tjt  bic  S(öiier:bung  bc^  alten 
ntenfi^en? 


integritate    alios    Christo    lucrifa- 


ciamus. 


Lxxxyn. 

JVon  possunt  igitur  Uli  servari, 
qui  ingrati,  et  in  peccatis  secure 
persistentes,  a  sua  pravitate  ad 
Deum  Twn  conveiiunt/iir  f 

Nullo  modo :  nam,  ut  Scriptm'a 
testatur,  nee  impudici,  nee  idolola- 
trse,  nee  adulteri,  nee  fures,  nee 
avari,  nee  ebriosi,  nee  eonvitiatores, 
nee  raptores,  lisereditatem  regni 
Dei  consequentur. 

Lxxxvin. 

Quibus  partibus  constat  cowver- 
sio  hominis  ad  Demn  f 


Mortifieatione  veteris,  et  vivifiea- 
tione  novi  hominis. 


LXXXIX. 

Quid  est  rnortificatio  veteris  Äo 
minis  ? 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


229 


gemt§  feien,  unb  mit  unferm  gottfetigen     thereof,  and  by  our  godly  walk 
Sßanbel  unfern  S^lac^jien  au^  Sf)ri|io     may  win  others  also  to  Clirist. 
gewinnen* 


i^tage  87* 
können  benn  bie  ni(i)t  felig  »erben, 
btc  fid)  öon  i^rem  unbanlbaren,  unBuf* 
fertigen  Sßanbel  ju  ©ott  nic^t  I^ele^^ 
ren? 

5lntn)ort* 
Äeine^wegö:  benn,  njie  bie  «Shrift 
fagt,  lein  Unlenfdjer,  5(bgöttif($er, 
(if)ibxtä)ix,  2)ie^,  ©einiger,  ^Trunlen^» 
'bolt,  Sajierer,  JRauBer  unb  bergleic^en, 
njirb  ba^  9?eicb  (S5otte^  erben. 


Sn 


forage  88« 
njte  üiel  ©tücfen   bej!e^t   bie 
JDa^r^aftige  23ufe  ober  33e!e^rung  beö 
SJJenfc^en? 

%ntvoüxt. 
Sn  ^mei  (Stucfen:    in  Stbj!erbung 
beg  alten,  unb  ^(uferfte^ung  bes  neuen 
2Jlenf(^en* 


Question  87. 
Can  they  tlien  not  he  savedy  who 
do  not  turn  to  God  from  their  un- 
thankful^  impenitent  life  ? 

Answee. 
By  no  means :  for,  as  the  Scrip- 
ture saith,  no  unchaste  person,  idol- 
ater, adulterer,  thief,  covetous  man, 
di'unkard,  slanderer,  robber,  or  any 
such  like,  shall  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  God. 

Question  88. 
In  how  many  things  does  true  re- 
pentance or  conversion  consist  f 

Answee. 
In  two  things :  the  dying  of  the 
old   man,  and   the  quickening  of 
the  new. 


^rage  89»  Question  89. 

SBag  i|!  bie  Stbfterbung  beö  alten        What  is  the  dying  of  the  old 
5D^enf($en  ?  rnan  ? 


230 


CATECHISMUS. 


5tntn)ort* 
3tn  btc  funbe  oon  ^er^en  lajfen  letbt         Vere  et  ex  animo  dolere,  quod 

fein,  öub  biefelMge  je  lenger  je  me^r  peccatis  tuis  Deum  offenderis,  eaque 

Isafen  önb  fliegen  ")*  magis  ac  magis  odisse  et  fugere. 

a)  Eom.  8.  loel.  2. 


Saö  ifi  bie  auffer|^el)ung  bcö  ncwen 
menfd)en  ? 

Sfntnjott* 
^er^Iii^e  freub  in  ©ott "),  önb  lujl 
ön  lieB  l)akn  na(^  bem  mitten  ©otte^, 
in  aUtn  guten  tütxdtn  ju  tetjen^)* 

a)  Korn.  5.  et  14.  Esai.  57.  b)  Rom.  6. 
Galat,  2. 

^tag. 
2Betd)e^  feinb  a^er  gute  mercf? 

5(ntn)0Tt* 
Mein  bie  au§  n?arem  ©tauben*), 
nac^  bem  ®efe|  ©otteö  ^)  }^m  ju  e^ren 
gef(^e^en  ^) :  ünb  nic^t  bie  auff  önfer 
gutbuniJen  ober  ntenfi^en  fa^ung  ge^ 
grünbet  fein^)* 

a)  Rom.  14.  &)  1  Sam.  15.  Ephes.  2.  c)  1 
Cor.  10.  d)  Deut.  12.  Ezech.  20.  Esai.  29. 
Matt.  15. 

Wtag* 
2Bie  taut  baö  ®efe^  beö  ^(SgiSRS^? 


xc. 

Quid  est  vivificatio  novi  homi- 
nis? 


Vera  laetitia  in  Deo  per  Christum, 
et  serium  ac  promptum  Studium  in- 
stituendi  vitam  ex  voluntate  Dei, 
omniaque  bona  opera  exercendi. 

XCI. 

QucB  sunt  bona  Ojpera  ? 

Ea  tantum,  quae  ex  vera  fide,  se- 
cundum legem  Dei  fiunt,  et  ad  ejus 
solius  gloriam  referuntur :  non  ea, 
quae  aut  a  nobis  opinione  recti  con- 
ficta,  aut  ab  aliis  hominibus  tradita 
sunt. 


XCII. 

QuxB  est  Lex  Dei  ? 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


231 


5tntn)ott*  Answer. 

<Biä)  bte  <BmH  »on  ^erjcn  lajTen        Heartfelt  sorrow  for  sin ;  causing 

leib   fein ;  unb  biefel^c  je  länger  Je  us  to  hate  and  turn  from  it  always 

me^r  l^affen  unb  fliegen,  more  and  more. 


%xaQt  90* 

Sßae  tfi  bte  Stuferfte^ung  be«  neuen 
SD?en[c^en  ? 

Antwort* 
^erglic^e  ^teube  in  ®ott ;  unb  Sufi 
unb  Ctefce  ^aten,  nac^  bent  Sßiüen  (3oU 
teg  in  aUen  guten  Serien  ju  leBen* 


Question  90. 
WTmt  is  the  quichening  of  the 
Tiew  man  f 

Answer. 
Heartfelt  joy  in  God;    causing 
us  to  take  delight  in  living  accord- 
ing to  tlie  will  of  God  in  all  good 
works. 


^rage  91* 
SBetci^eg  fmb  aBer  gute  2ßer!e  ? 

Stntwort^ 

^fltein  bie  au^  »a^rem  ®taul>en, 
nad^  bent  ®efe^  ©otte^,  S^nt  ju 
^^ren  gef(^e^en;  unb  ni($t  bie  auf 
unfer  ©utbiinlen  ober  3)Jenf(^enfa^ung 
gcgrunbet  ftnb* 


Question  91. 
But  what  are  good  woi^lcs  f 

Answer. 
Those  only  whicli  are  done  from 
true  faith,  according  to  the  Law 
of  God,  for  His  glory;  and  not 
such  as  rest  on  our  own  opinion, 
or  the  commandments  of  men. 


Sragc  92* 
SBte  tautet  bag  ®efe$  bee  ^errn? 


Question  92. 
What  is  the  Law  of  God? 


232  CATECmSMTJS. 

5(ntn)ort* 

©Ott  rcbet  alle  bife  wort*  Loquutus  est  Dens  omnia  verba 

ligec: 

ÜDa^  (Srjle  ®ebot*  Prirmim  Proeceptum. 

Sd)  Bin  ber^S^^lSfl  bein®ott,  Ego  sum  Dominus  Dens  tnus, 

bcr  x6)  bic^   au^  (Sg^ptenlanb,  qui  eduxi  te  ex  ^gypto,  domo  ser- 

au^bem2)ten|^^aufgefuret  \atutis.    Non  habebis  Deos alienos 

i^a^e*    3)u  folt  !ein  anbcr  @ot=*  in  conspectu  meo. 
ter  für  mit  l^a^en« 

ÜDaS  5(nber»  Secundum  Prcßceptum, 

!I)u  fott  bir  fein  S3itbnu^  Ne  sculpas  tibi  simulacrum,  nee 

nod)    jrgenbt    cinglei<^nu§  ullam    imaginem    effingas   eorum 

mad)en,  toeber  bef,  baö  oben  im  quae  aut  supra  sunt  in  eoelo,  aut  in 

.JpiineI,nodj)  bef ,  \i^^  ünben  auff  fra  in  terra,  aut  in  aquis  sub  terra 

(Srben,  ober  bef,  ba^  im  Joaffer  ne  incurves  te  illis,  neque  colas  ea 

onber  ber  erben  ifl,  2)u  folt  fie  Ego  enim  sum  Dominus,  Deus  tuns 

ni(^f  anbeten,  no^  jn en  bienen*  fortis,    zelotes,   vindicans    peccata 

!Denn  i^  ber  ^(2:9^13^1  bien  ©ott,  patrum  in  filiis,  idque  in  tertia  et 

Bin  ein  fiarcfer  e^ueriger  ®ott,  quarta  progenie  eorum,  qui  oderunt 

ber  bie  miffetl^at  ber  3}dter  me;  et  misericordia  utens  in  mille- 

!^eimfu(^t  an  ben  Ätnbern,  Bif  simam  eorum,  qui  diligunt  me,  et 

in^  britte  on  öeirbe  glieb,  beren  observant  prsecepta  mea. 
bie  mi(^  l^affen:  on  tl^ue  barm=* 
^er§ig!eit  an  oiel  taufenben 
bie   mi(i)   lieBcn,  önb   meine 
©ebot  galten» 

S)a^  britte»  Tertium  Prceceptum. 

T)u    folt    ben    5Zamen    bc^  Ne  usurpes  nomen  Domini  Dei 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM.  233 

^nirooxt*  Answer. 

©Ott  rcbet  alle  bicfe  Sorte:  God  spake  all  tliese  words,  say- 
ing: 

ÜDa^  crjte  (l5e^ot*  Mrst  Commandmmt. 

3(^  t)tn  ber  ^err,  bcin  ©ott,  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  wMcli 

bcr   S^  btc^   auö   (Sg^ptenlanb,  tave  brought  thee  out  of  the  land 

au^  bent  !l)ienf^l)aufe,  gefübrct  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bond- 

l^aBe*    !l)u  foil  ft  leine  anbeten  age.    Thou  shalt  have  no   other 

©otter  öor  W\x  ^(x^tx^.  gods  before  Me. 

2)a^  jmeitc  Oe^ot«  Second  Commandmmt. 
!J)U  folljl  btrlein  23tlbntß,  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee 
tto^  irgenb  ein  ©lei(l)ni§  ma^»  any  graven  image,  or  any  likeness 
^en,  »eber  bef,  baö  oben  im  of  any  thing  that  is  in  heaven 
ipimntel,  noc^  bef,  baö  unten  above,  orthat  is  in  the  earth  be- 
au f  Srben,  ober  be^,  baö  im  neath,  or  that  is  in  the  water  under 
SÖaffer  unter  ber  Srbc  i|l;  bu  the  earth;  thou  shalt  not  bow 
follft  fie  ni.ct>t  anbeten,  nod)  i^^  down  thyself  to  them,  nor  serve 
nen  bienen*  3)enn  3d),  ber  ^err,  them.  For  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am 
bcin  ®ott,  bin  ein  ftarler,  eif^  a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquity 
tiger  ®ott,  ber  bie  5)}liffet^at  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children 
ber  SSäter  ]^eimfud)t  an  ben ^in^  unto  the  third  and  foui-th  genera- 
bcrn  bio  in*ö  brittc  unb  oierte  tion  of  them  that  hate  Me;  and 
dJlieb  berer,  bie  Wx^  Raffen;  showing  mercy  unto  thousands  of 
unb  t^ue  SSarm^erjigleit  an  them  that  love  Me,  and  keep  my 
üielen  5taufenben,  bie  Wi^  lie^  commandments, 
ben  unb  meine  ©ebotc  l^alten« 

%(}A  britte  ®ebot*  Tliwd  Ccmmandnient 

2)U   follfi    ben   5Zamen   bc^  Thou- shalt  not    take  the  name 
30 


2U  CATECHISMUS. 

^(SS'lSfl^S'l  beine^  ©otte^  ntd)t  tui  temere;  neque  enim  Dominus 

ntipraui^en,  !l)enn  ber  ^^diM  impunitum  dimittit   eum,  qui  no- 

tt)irb  ben  nt(J)t  onge)lrafft  laf^  men  ejus  vane  usurpaverit. 
fen,  ber  feinen  S^lamen  ntt^^ 
branc^t, 

X)a0  Dtetbc*  Quaj'tum  Proßceptwm. 

®eben(f  beö  (Safct>a^t  tag^,  Memento  ut  diem  Sabbati  sano- 

ba^  bu  Jl^n  ^etligej!»     ©ec^g  tiiices.     Sex  diebus   operaberis,  et 

tag  fottu  arbeiten,  önb  alle  omne  opus  tuum  fades :   at  septi- 

beine  wertf  t^un,  aberam  fi=  modie  Sabbatum  erit  Domino  Deo 

benben  tage  ijt  b*  ©abbat^  beö  tuo;    non  facies  ullum  opus,  nee 

^(SS'lSfKSS'l  betneö  ©otte^,  ba  tu,  nee  filius  tuus,  nee  filia  tua,  nee 

folt  bn  leine  arbeit  t^un,  no(^  servus  tuus,  nee  ancilla  tua,  nee  ju- 

bien  (Son,  noc^  beine  2;o^ter,  mentum  tuum,  nee  advena,  qui  est 

no^  bein  Änei^t,  no^  beine  intra  portas  tuas.   Nam  sex  diebus 

magt,  nO(^  bctn  2>ie^,  nod)  ber  fecit  Dens  ccelum,  terram,  mare,  et 

frebling  ber  in  beine  tl^oren  quaeeunque  in  iis  sunt,  et  requievit 

ijl*     !l)ett  in  fe(^^   tagen  ^at  die    septimo,    ideoque    benedixit 

ber  .^ßSlSfl   {)imel   önb  erben  Dens  diei  Sabbati,  et  sanctificavit 

gemad)t,  önb  ba^  mel)r,  önb  eum. 
alleö    mag    brinnen   ijt,  önb 
rl^nete  am  fibenben  tage,  barü 
fegnete  ber  ip(^9l9l  be  ^<k^\i;aVci 
tag,  öii  !^eiliget  jn* 

jDag  ?5ünffte*  Quintwm  PrcBceptum. 

X>u    fott    bein    35ater    önb  Honora    patrem    tuum    et   ma- 

betne  SlRuttcr  cl^ren,  au  ff  ba^  trem  tuam,  ut  diu  vivas  in  terra, 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM.  235 

^errn,  bcine^   ©ottcö,  nic^t  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain;  for 

mißbrauchen;  benn  bet  ipetr  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guilt- 

tt)trb  beu  ttid>t  ungcflraft  laf^  less    that    taketh    His    name    in 

fen,  ber  feinen  ^amtn  mif*  vain. 
braud)t. 

2)a^  ütertc  OcBot«  fourth  Commandment. 

(Bebenfe   beö   (Bahhat^ta^t^f  Eemember  the  Sabbath  day  to 

l)a^    bu    i^n    ^eilige|t*      <Bt^^  keep  it  holy.     Six  days  shalt  thou 

^age  foltft   bu  arbeiten,  unb  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work:   but 

alle  beine  SÖerle  t^un:  aber  am  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of 

fiebenten  Xa^t  ifl  ber  (Sabbat^  the  Lord  thy  God ;  in  it  thou  shalt 

beö  ^crrn,  betneö(S5otteö;  ba  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son, 

follft  bu  feine  ^trbeit  tl^un,  noc^  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  manservant, 

bein  ©o^n,  noc^  beine  ^o^ter,  nor  thy  maidservant,  nor  thy  cat- 

nodjbein  ^nec^t,  nocf)  beine  tie,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is  with- 

^agb,  nod)   bein  iBie^,  no(^  in  thy  gates.    For  in  six  days  the 

ber  trembling,  ber  in  beinen  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the 

5ri)oren'tj^*     ^enn    in    fecj)^  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and 

2;agen  ^at  ber  iperf  ipimmet  rested  the  seventh  day ;  w^herefore 

unb   Srbe    gemad)t,   unb   ba^  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day, 

^SJieer/Unb  Stlle^  tt»a^  barinnen  and  hallowed  it. 
ijt,  unb  ru^ete  am  fiebenten 
:^age;  barum  fegnete  ber  ^crr 
ben  «Sabbat^tag,  unb  l^ctltgte 
i^n* 

!l)a«  fünfte  dJebot*  Mfth  Commandment. 

T)U  foUjl  beinen  35ater  unb  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mo- 

beine  2)iutter  e^ren,  auf  baf  bu  ther;  that  thy  days  may  be  long 


236 


CATECfflSMUS. 


tu  tang  leBejl  Im  8anb,  ta^     quam   Dominus    Deus    tuus    dat 
bir  bct  §(g^9fl  bcin  ®ott  gil)t.     tibi. 


S)u  [olt  nit  tobten. 

2)a^  ©ibeiitc* 
2)u  folt  nit  S^e:6rc(^cn» 

!Du  folt  nit  jleien* 
3)a0  9lcünbe* 


Sextum  Prceceptum, 
Non  occides. 

Septimum  JPrceceptum. 
ISTon  committes  adulterium. 

Octavum  Proeceptum. 
Non  fiiraberis. 

Nonum  Proßceptum. 


^U  fott  lein  fatfc^  jcugnuj         Non  dices  contra  proximumtuum 
teben  n)iber  b einen  ne^ften*         falsum  testimonium. 


Saf  bt$  nit  gelnjlcn  beinc^ 
ne(äj)|ten  ^auf,  %(x^  bic^  nit  ge* 
lüjten  beineö  ne(^ficn  »eib^, 
nod)  fcineö  Änec^t^,  no(^  feinet 
SO^agb,  nod>  feineö  £)c^fen,  no^ 
feinet  Sfelö,  no^  alle^  ba^ 
bein  9led)fter  ^at* 


Decimum  Prceceptum. 
Non  concupisces  domum  proximi 
tui ;  nee  concupisces  uxorem  proxi- 
mi tui,  nee  servum  ejus,  nee  ancil- 
lam,  nee  bovem,  nee  asinum,  nee 
quicquam  dorum  quae  sunt  proximi 
tui. 


$ßte  »erben  biefe  ©ebot  geteilt  ? 


xcm. 

Quomodo  dwiduntv/r  Twbc  proB- 
cepta  f 

Stntwott» 
Sn  jnjo  ^tafeln "),  beren  bte  erfte  in         In  duas  tabulas :  quarum  prior 
jjter  gebotten  teeret,  lote  mir  onö  gegen     quatuor  praeceptis  tradit,  quo  pacto 

a)  Exo.  34.  Deut.  4.  et  10. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


23T 


lange  Ictejl  im  Sanbc,  ha^  btr 
ber  ^err,  bcin  ®ott,  gict)t* 

Xa^  fec^pe  ®iboU 
2)u  foltft  ntd)t  tobten, 

X)a^  ftetJente  ©efcot. 
!Du  follfi  ntc^t  cbeljrec^en, 

2)a0  aä)tt  (3tUU 
S)u  foltfi  nt^t  flel)ten, 

'^a^  neunte  ©e^ot, 
3)u  follll  letn  fatf^  Seug-^ 
nt§  reben  »ibcr  beinen  3lää)^ 
flen/ 

^Da^  jel^nte  ®e:6ot, 

ga§  bi(i^ni(^t  getufien  beineö 
S^la^jlen  ipaufe^;  la§  bi(^  ni(^t 
geluften  betneö  S'lät^jlen  SBet* 
bc^,  no(^  feinet  Änei^tö,  nod), 
feiner  ^Oiagb,  noc()  feinet  Oc^^^ 
fene,  no(^  feine«  SfeU,  noc^ 
5(ne«  wa«  bein  9?a(^flet  ]^at> 

i^rage  93, 
2Öte   »erben    biefe   ©e^ote  einge^ 
t^eilt? 

Slntmort» 
3n  ixod  ^tafeln :  beren  bie  cr|!e  in 
öier  ©eboten  lehret,  mie  »it  un^  gegen 


upon  tlie  land  wticli  the  Lord  tliy 
God  givetli  tliee. 

Sixth  Gommomdment 
Tlion  shalt  not  kill. 

Seventh  Commandment. 
Thou  Shalt  not  commit  adultery. 

Eighth  Commandment. 
Thou  shalt  not  steal. 

Ninth  Commandment. 
Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness 
against  thy  neighbor. 

Tenth  Commandment. 
Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neigh- 
bor's house;  thou  shalt  not  covet 
thy  neighbor's  wife,  nor  his  man- 
servant, nor  his  maidservant,  nor 
his  ox,  nor  his  ass,  nor  any  thing 
that  is  thy  neighbor's. 

Question  93. 
How  are  these  Commandments 
divided  f 

Answer. 
Into   two   tables:    the  first   of 
which  teaches  us,  in  four  command- 


238 


CATECHISMUS. 


@ott  fotten  fatten»  2)ie  anber  in  \t^^ 
gesotten,  wa^  wir  önfernt  nec^jlen 
fc^ulbig  fein'*)* 

J)  Mat.  22. 

S©a0  ctforbett  bex  ^(£9191  im  erjlcn 

Stntwott* 
!^af  i(^  be^  öerlierung  meiner  feelen 
§eil  önb  feügMt  aUt  a't^gottere^*'),  jau'^. 
fcere^,  a^ergtauBifd^e  fegen  ^),  anruffung 
ber  ^eiligen  ober  anberer  Kreaturen "), 
meiben  on  fliegen  fol,  35nb  ben  einigen 
waren  ®ott  rec^t  erlennen*^),  }m  allein 
»er trafen''),  ^n  alter  bemut^  onb  ge^' 
bult  ^),  üon  im  attein  atle^  gutö  gewar* 
ten^),  ön  jn  »on  ganzem  ^er^en  tie^ 
Un^),  furchten '^)  on  e^ren^ :  Stlfo  bap 
iä)  e'^e  atte  creaturen  oberge'be,  ben  in 
bem  geringften  miber  feinen  mitten 
t^ne""). 

a)  1  Cor.  6.  et  10.  b)  Leuit.  19.  Deut.  18. 
c)  Matt.  4.  Apoc.  19.  et  22.  d)  loh.  17.  e)  lere. 
17.  /)  1  Pet.  5.  g)  Hebr.  10.  Coloss.  1. 
Korn.  5.  1  Cor.  10.  Phil.  2.  h)  Psal.  104. 
Esai.  45.  lac.  1.  i)  Deut.  6.  Matt.  22.  i:)  Deut. 
6,  Psal.  111.  Prou.  1.  et  9.  Mat.  10.  l)  Mat.  4. 
Deut.  10.     m)  Mat.  5.  et  10.  Act.  5. 

f5tag> 
Söa^tj^mgottere^? 


nos  erga  Deum  geramus;  posterior 
sex  prseceptis,  quae  officia  proximo 
debeamus. 

XCIV. 

Quid  postulat  Deus  in  jprimo 
prcBcepto  ? 

Ut,  quam  mihi  cara  est  salus 
animse  mese,  tarn  studiose  vitem  et 
fugiam  omnem  idololatriam,  ma- 
giam,  incantationem,  superstitio- 
nem,  invocationem  sanctorum,  cse- 
terarumve  creaturum;  unicum  au- 
tem  et  verum  Deum  recte  agnoscam, 
ipsi  soli  fidam,  summa  humilitate 
ac  patientia  me  illi  subjiciam,  ab 
eo  solo  omnia  bona  expectem,  de- 
nique.  intimo  cordis  affectu  ipsum 
amem,  reverear,  venerer;  adeo  ut 
omnibus  potius  creaturis  renun- 
tiem,  quam  ut  vel  minimum  contra 
ejus  volimtatem  committam. 


xcy. 

Quid  est  idololatria  f 


THE  HEroELBERG  CATECHISM. 


239 


©Ott  foUen  l^alten ;  bie  anbere  in  fed^ö  ments,  what  duties  we  owe  to  God; 
©ctoten,  »a^  mir  unferm  ^'ä6)fttn  the  second,  in  six,  wliat  duties  we 
fc^ulbtg  jtnb«  owe  to  our  neighbor. 


^ragc  94* 
2Baö  forbert  ber  ipen  im  erjien  ©e^^ 
Bot? 

Sfntmort* 
SDa§  i(^  Ui  35erlicrung  meiner  ©ee^ 
len  ^etl  iinb  ©eligfeit,  aUt  StBgötterei, 
Banberei,  akrgläubifd)e  ©egen,  5(n^ 
rufung  ber  ipeiligen  ober  anberer  (^rea^ 
turen,  meiben  unb  flie^ien  foü,  nnb  ben 
einigen  maleren  Oott  rec^t  eriennen, 
3^m  aUein  öertrauen,  in  alter  !l)emut]^ 
unb  ®ebulb  oon  3^m  attein  alteö  ®utc 
erwarten,  unb  S^n  üon  ganjem  iperjen, 
liekn,  fürchten  unb  el^ren;  alfo,  ba§ 
i^  e^er  alle  Kreaturen  übergebe,  benn 
in  bem  ®ering|!en  »iber  feinen  SCÖilten 
tl^uc* 


Question  94. 
What  does  God  require  in  the 
first  commandment  ? 

Answer. 
That,  on  peril  of  my  soul's  salva- 
tion, I  avoid  and  flee  all  idolatry, 
sorcery,  enchantments,  invocation 
of  saints  or  of  other  creatures ;  and 
that  I  rightly  acknowledge  the  only 
true  God,  trust  in  Him  alone,  with 
all  humility  and  patience  expect  all 
good  from  Him  only,  and  love,  fear 
and  honor  Him  with  my  whole 
heart ;  so  as  rather  to  renounce  all 
creatures  than  do  the  least  thing 
against  His  will. 


(5rage  95 
SBagijlStBgötterei? 


Question  95. 
What  is  idolatry  ? 


240 


CATECHISMUS. 


Stn  jlat  be^  einigen  waten  ©otte^, 
bet  fi<i)  in  feinem  tuort  ^at  offenbaret, 
ober  neBen  bemfelMgen  etioaö  anberft 
biegte  ober  ^ahl,  barauff  ber  menfc^  fein 
»ertraioen  fe^t'')* 

a)  Ephes.  5.  1  Par.  16.  Phil.  3.  Gala.  4. 
Ephes.  2.  1  loh.  2.  2  loli.  1.  1  loh.  5. 

f^tag* 
2Öag   toil  ®ott    im    anbern  ®e^ 
Bot? 

5(nt»ort* 
ÜDap  toir  ©ott  in  leinen  ttJeg  üerBit=* 
bctt"),  no(^   auff  jrgenb   eine  anberc 
njeife,  benn  er  in  feinem  wort  befohlen 
^at,  oere^ren  folten^)* 

a)  Deut.  4.  Esai.  40.  Eom.  1.  Act.  17.  5)  1 
Sam.  15.  Deut.  12.  Mat.  15. 

<Sot  man  ben  gar  fein  l>ilbnu§ 
mac^e? 

5(nttoort» 

©Ott  Ian  onb  fol  leinet  weg^  aBge*= 
Bilbet  »erben;  bie  Kreaturen  aber,  ob 
fte  fc^on  mögen  aBgeBilbet  werben:  fo 
»erbeut  boc^  (Dott  berfetbigen  bitbnup 
in  mad)en  onb  ju  l^aben,  baf  man  jic 
»ere^re  ober  jm  bamit  biene")* 

a)  Exod.  23.  et  34.  Num.  33.  Deut.  7.  et  12. 
16.  2  Reg.  18. 


Est  loco  tmius  Dei,  aut  praeter 
unum  ilium  et  verum  Deum,  qui 
se  in  verbo  suo  patefecit,  aliud 
quippiam  fingere  aut  habere,  in 
quo  spem  reponas. 


XCVI. 

Quidpostulat  secundum  ^rcecep- 
turn? 

Ne  Deum  ulla  imagine  aut  figura 
exprimamus,  neve  ulla  alia  ratione 
eum  colamus  quam  qua  se  in  verbo 
suo  coli  praecepit. 

xcvn. 

A.n  nulloB  ergo  jprorsus  ßngendcB 
sunt  imagines  aut  simulacra  f 

Deus  nee  effingi  ulla  ratione  de- 
bet nee  potest;  creaturas  autem, 
etsi  exprimere  quidem  licet,  vetat 
tamen  Deus  earum  imagines  fingi 
aut  haberi,  quo  vel  ipsas,  vel  Deum 
per  ipsas,  colamus  aut  honoremus. 


THE  HEIDELBEKG  CATECHISM. 


241 


Sftt  (Statt  be^  einigen  magren  ®ot^ 
teö,  ber  fid)  in  feinem  2Öort  l)at  ojfen^ 
Ibaret,  ober  neben  bemfelben  etma^ 
5tnbereö  bi(^ten  ober  ^abtn,  barauf  ber 
Wtn^ä)  fein  3>ertrauen  fe^t. 


Answer. 
It  is  instead  of  tlie  one  true  God 
who  has  revealed  Himself  in  His 
word,  or  along  with  the  same,  to 
conceive  or  have  something  else  on 
which  to  place  our  trust. 


gtage  96* 
20a«  njitt  ®ott  im  ^weiten  ®e^ 
Bot? 

5(ntwort* 
!Da^  mir  ®ott  in  feinem  Sßege  oer=* 
bitben,  no^  auf  irgenb   eine  anbere 
SBeife,  benn  (Sr  in  feinem  33ßort  k^ 
fohlen  ^at,  öere^ren  fotten* 


Question  96. 
What  does   God  require  in  the 
second  commandment  f 

AisrswEE. 
That  we  in  nowise   make   any 
image  of  God,  nor  worship  Him  in 
any  other  way  than  He  has  com- 
manded in  His  word. 


grage  97* 

©on  man  benn  gar  lein  Silbnip 
machen  ? 

Antwort. 

©Ott  lann  unb  folt  feine^iüeg«  abge^ 
Bitbet  werben ;  bie  Sreaturen  aber,  ob 
fie  fc^on  mögen  abgebilbet  iüerben,  fo 
»erbietet  bo^  ©ott  berfelben  23ilbnif 
ju  machen  unb  ju  l^aben,  bap  man  fie 
üere^re,  ober  3^nt  bamit  biene» 


QuEsiioN  97. 

Must  we  then  not  mahe  any  im- 
age at  all  ? 

Answer. 

God  may  not  and  cannot  be  im- 
aged in  any  way ;  as  for  creatures, 
though  they  may  indeed  be  im- 
aged, yet  God  forbids  the  making 
or  keeping  any  likeness  of  them, 
either  to  worship  them,  or  by  them 
to  serve  Himself. 


31 


242 


CATECHISMUS. 


^Oiogen  akr  nid^t  bte  Htber  aU  ber 
gelten  tüd)er,  tu  ben  Äir(^en  gebulbet 
werben  ? 

5lntn)ort> 
5^ein:  2)enn  mir  nit  folten  meifer 
fein  benn  @ott,  welcher  feine  ß^riften* 
]^eit  nie  burd)  ftumme  go^en''),  fonber 
bnr<i)  bie  Iel)enbige  prebig  feinet  iDortö, 
mil  önberwiefen  ^akn^)* 

ä)  lere.  10.  Haba.  2.     5)  2  Pet.  1.  2  Tim.  3. 

?5rag. 
2ßagn)ilbaOritt©el)ot? 

Stntwort* 
:Dap  mir  ni(^t  allein  mit  fluchen, 
ober  mit  fcilfi^em  a^be:  fonber  and) 
mit  unnötigem  fd)n)eren  bcn  5Zamen 
©otte^  nid>t  leftern  ober  mi^brau^en, 
no(^  ön^  mit  önferm  ftilf(^meigen  önb 
jufe^en  foId)er  fd)red(id>en  fünben  t^eil^ 
l^afftig  mad)en,  2>nb  in  fnmma,  bap  mir 
ben  l^eiüge  S^lamen  ©otte^  anberf^  nid)t, 
benn  mit  ford)t  onb  el)rert)ietimg  gekan== 
^en"),  aujf  ba^  er  oon  ön^  red)t  l)e^ 
!ent^),  angcrujfen,  önb  in  alt  onfern 
morten  önb  werden  ^)  gepriefen  merbe» 

a)  Rom.  2.  1  Tim.  6.  Coloss.  3.  h)  Esai.  45. 
Matt.  10.    c)  1  Tim.  2. 


XCVIII. 

An  non  autem  in  templis  ima- 
gines tolerari  possunt^  qucB  pro 
lihris  sint  imperitcß  multitudini  f 

Minime:  neque  enim  decet  nos 
sapientiores  esse  Deo,  qui  Ecclesiam 
suam  non  mutis  siinulacris,  sed 
viva  prsedicatione  verbi  sui  vult 
erudii'i. 

XCIX. 

Quid  sancit  Dens  tertio  proe- 
cepto  f 

Ut  non  solum  execrando,  aut 
pejerando,  verum  etiam  temere  ju- 
rando,  nomen  Dei  contumeliose  aut 
irreverenter  ne  usurpemus;  neve 
tacendo  aut  connivendo  horrendis 
istis  sceleribus  communicemus ;  sed 
sacrosancto  Dei  nomine  non  nisi 
summa  cum  religione  et  veneratione 
utamur,  ut  vera  et  constanti  confes- 
sione,  invocatione,  omnibus  denique 
verbis  et  actionibus  nostris  ipse 
celebretur. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


243 


forage  98. 
MoQin  abn  ntc^t  bie  SSilber,  aU  ber 
Saien  33üc^er,  in  ben  ^ixdjtn  gebulbet 
ttjetben  ? 

5(ntn)ort* 
5^ein :  benn  wir  follen  nic()t  weifer 
fein  benn  ®ott,  n>etd)er  feine  S^riften^ 
l^eit  nie  bur^  jbmme  @ö|en,  fonbern 
but(^  bie  leknbige  ^rebigt  feineö  Sßottö 
n)itt  untetwiefen  ^aben* 


Question  98. 
£ut  may  not  pictures  he  toler- 
ated in  churches  as  hooJcs  for  the 
laity  ? 

Answee. 
No :  for  we  should  not  be  wiser 
than  God,  who  will  not  have  His 
people  taught  by  dumb  idols,  but 
by  the  lively  preaching  of  His 
word. 


^tage  99* 
2Ba^  t»illba^bntte®ebot? 

Stntwott* 
!I)a9  n)it  ni(J)t  attein  ntit  ^uc^en, 
ober  mit  falfd)em  Sib,  fonbern  au(^ 
mit  xmnDtf)igem  ©(^loören  ben  S'^amen 
©otteö  nid)t  läjiern  ober  mifBranc^en, 
no(^  nnö  mit  unferm  (StiIIfd)njeigen 
unb  Bwfe^cti  fo(<^er  f(^rc(iUd)en  ©iin^ 
ben  t^eit()afti3  mad)en ;  imb  in  (3um== 
ma,  bap  wir- ben  t;eiligen  9Zamen  ®ot^ 
teö  anberö  ni^t,  benn  mit  <^nrd)t  unb 
(S^rerBietung  geBrand)en,  auf  bap  Sr 
üon'un^  red)t  Iselennet,  angerufen,  unb 
in  alten  unfern  Sßorten  unb  SBerlen 
ge:priefen  »erbe. 


Question  99. 
What  is  required  in  the  third 
commandment  f 

Answee. 
That  we  must  not  by  cursing,  or 
by  false  swearing,  nor  yet  by  un- 
necessary oaths,  profane  or  abuse 
the  name  of  God ;  nor  even  by  our 
silence  and  connivance  be  partakers 
of  these  horrible  sins  in  others;, 
and  in  sum,  that  we  use  the  holy 
name  of  God  no  otherwise  than 
with  fear  and  reverence,  so  that 
He  may  be  rightly  confessed  and 
worshipped  by  us,  and  be  glorified 
in  all  our  words  and  works. 


244 


CATECmSMUS. 


Stag.  C. 

31^  benn  mit  [(^tüeren  ünb  flud)en  Estne  igitur  adeo  grave  peccatum 

©otte^  5'Zamen  leflern,  fo  eine  f(i)l»ete  jurando^  aut  dira  imprecando^  no- 

funb,  ba^  ®ott  auc^  öBer  bie  gurnet,  we^z,  Dei  termrare^  ut  Deus  etiam 

bie,  fouiel  gxi  jnen  tfi,  biefelk  ni<^t  ns  succenseat,  qui^  quantum  in  se 

l^elffen  n?el)rcn  önb  oerbieten  ?  ^*^,  i7^i^ö?  non  prohihent  aut  impe- 

diunt  f 


5ttttTOort* 
Sci  fvei?Ii(^ "),  ^enn  leine  fünbe  gr6=^ 
ffer  tjl,  no<^  ©ott  ^efftiger  erjutnet, 
ben  lejlenmg  feinet  5^amen^,  !Darumb 
er  fte  aucj)  mit  bem  tobt  ju  jlraffen  Be^ 
fohlen  ^at^). 

a)  Leuit.  5,     Z))  Leui.  24. 

SD^iag  man  a^er  auc^  ©ottfetig  t)e^ 
bem  9?amen  ©otte^  einen  %t)\)  fc^we^ 
ten? 

5i[ntmort* 
Sci :  SBenn  eö  bie  OBerleit  »on  j'^=' 
ten  ünbert^anen,  ober  fonfl  bie  not^ 
erforbert,  tretoe  onb  njarl;eit  jn  @otte^ 
e'^re  »nb  be^  ned)flen  ^eit  barbur^  ju* 
erhalten  onb  ju  furbern*  ^enn  foI(^e^ 
a^bfi^toere  ift  in  ®otte^  mort  gegrnn* 
bet"),  onb  berl^alben  öon  ben  ipeiligen 

a)  Deut.  6.  et  10.  Esai.  48.  Heb.  6. 


Certe  gravissimum :  neque  enim 
ullum  est  peccatum  majus,  aut  quod 
Deum  gravius  offendat  quam  sacri 
ipsius  nominis  contumelia.  Quo- 
circa  etiam  id  scelus  morte  multari 
voluit. 

CI. 

Potestne  quis  etiam  pie  per  no- 
men  Deijv/raref 


Potest,  cum  vel  magistratus  id 
exigit,  vel  alioqui  necessitas  lioc 
pacto  fidem  firmari,  et  veritatem 
stabiliri  postulat;  quo  et  gloria 
Dei  illustretur,  et  aliorum  saluti 
consulatm'.  Nam  ejus  generis  jus- 
jm-andum  verbo  Dei  sancitm',  ideo- 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


245 


^ragc  100* 
Sft  benn  mit  ©cfjwören  unb  ?^ud)en 
©otteö  S^lamen  läftern  fo  cmc  f(^tt)erc 
(Sünbc,  baf  ®ott  aud)  über  bie  jürnct, 
bte,  fo  Dtel  an  i^ncn  i%  btefelk  ni^t 
l^elfen  »e^ren  utib  ocrtieten  ? 

5(ntwort* 
3a  freiließ :  benn  leinc  (Sitnbe  gro* 
f  er  ift,  nod^  ©ott  l^efttger  erzürnet,  benn 
Cäjlerung  feinet  S'^amen^*  !Darum  Sr 
fte  axLÖ)  mit  bem  ilobc  ju  jhafcn  fce= 
fügten  l^at» 


Question  100. 
Is  then  the  profaning  of  God's 
name^  hy  swearing  and  cursing^  so 
grievous  a  sin^  that  His  wrath  is 
hindled  against  those  also  who  seek 
not^  as  much  as  in  them  lies^  to  hin- 
der and  forbid  the  same  ? 

Answee. 
Yes  truly :  for  no  sin  is  greater, 
or  more  provoking  to  God,  than 
the  profaning  of  His  name.  Where- 
fore He  even  commanded  it  to  be 
punished  with  death. 


forage  101*  Question  101. 

5D?ag  man  aBer  au(S^  öottfelig  Bet  But  may  we  not  swear  hy  the 

bem  S'^amen  Ootte^  einen  ©b  fcj)WÖ*=  name  of  God  in  a  religious  man- 
ren? 

Sfntwott* 
Sa ;  trenn  eö  bie  Dbrigleit  oon  i^ren 
Untertanen  ober  fonjt  bie  SiZot^  erfor^ 
bert,  ^rene  unb  2Ba^r!^eit  ju  ©otte^ 
^§re  unb  be^  5Zäc^|len  ^eil  baburc^  l^x 
er'^alten  unb  ju  forbern,  ^enn  fold^e^ 
Sibf<^tt)ören  ijl  in  ©otteö  SBort  ge^ 
grünbet,  unb  ber^alkn  »on  ben  ipeili* 


ner? 

Answee. 

Yes;  when  the  magistrate  re- 
quires it,  or  it  may  be  needful 
otherwise,  to  maintain  and  promote 
fidelity  and  truth,  to  the  glory  of 
God  and  our  neighbor's  good.  For 
such  swearing  is  grounded  in  God's 
word,  and  therefore   was   rightly 


246 


CATECHISMUS. 


im  alten  onb  newen  ^eftament  rec^t 
geBraud)et  werben^)* 

h)  Gen.  21.  et  81.  Esai.  9.  1  Sam.  24.  2  Sam. 


3.  1 


1.  Eom.  1.  2  Cor.  1. 


^ao^  man  an^  U)^  ben  ^eiligen  ober 
anbcrn  Kreaturen  a^b  fd^meten  ? 

5(ttttt)ort* 

S^lein:  ^enn  ein  red^tmejfiger  ai)b 
tji  ein  anruffimg  ©otte^,  baf  er  alö 
ber  einig  l^er^lünbiger,  ber  njar^eit 
^eugnuf  tübUt  geben,  önb  mic^  ftrajfen, 
fo  ic^  falf(^  \ä)mxt^),  n)eld)e  e^rc  benn 
feiner  creaturen  geMret^)* 

a)  2  Cor.  1.     h)  Mat.  5.  lacob.  5. 

?5rag. 
2ßa^  »il  ©Ott  im  öierbten  ®c* 
Bot? 

5(ntwort* 
(S5ot  mit  erftlid),  ba^  ba^  ^rebigampt 
ijnb  fc^ulen  erl^atten  »erben'*),  on  id) 
fonberlic^  am  feiertag  jn  b*  gemeine 
(S5otte^  ötetjfig  fome^),  bj  »ort  ©otte^ 
p  lernen''),  bic  l^eiligc  «Sacrament  gu 
gehaui^en*^),  ben  m^^^  offentti^ 
anjnruffenO/  ön  ba^  ß^^riflUc^  atmof 

«)  Tit.  1.  1  Tim.  3.  4.  et  5.  1  Cor.  9.  2  Tim. 
2.  et  3.  &)  Psal.  40.  et  68.  Act,  2.  c)  1  Cor. 
14.    d)  1  Cor.  11.    e)  1  Tim.  2.  1  Cor.  14. 


que   etiam   a  Sanctis    in  veteri   et 
novo  foedere  recte  est  usui'patum. 


CIL 

JE-stne  licitum  jurare  per  sanctos^ 
aut  alias  creaturas  ? 


Non :  nam  legitimum  juramen- 
tum  est  invocatio  Dei,  qua  petitur, 
ut  is  ipse,  tanquam  unicus  cordium 
inspector,  testimonium  det  veritati, 
et  jurantem  puniat,  si  sciens  fallat. 
PoiTO  hie  lionos  nulli  creaturae  con- 
venit. 

CHI. 

Quid  prcecipit  Dens  in  quarto 
prcecepto  f 

Primum,  ut  ministerium  Evan- 
gelii  et  scliolse  conserventur ;  utque 
ego  cum  aliis,  tum  prsecipue  festis 
diebus,  studiose  coetus  divinos  fre- 
quentem,  verbum  Dei  diligenter 
audiam,  utar  Sacramentis,  precibus 
publicis  meas  quoque  preces  adjun- 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


247 


gen  im  alten  unb  neuen  ^^eflament 
xtä)t  gel>rau(i)t  morben* 


used  by  tlie  saints  in  tlie  Old  and 
New  Testament. 


^rage  102* 
Mao,  man  auc^  ki  ben  ^eittgen  ober 
anbern  Sreaturen  einen  (Sib  [«^toören? 

^ntvooxt. 
^dn :  benn  ein  re^tmäf iget  (£ib  ijl 
eine  5(nrufung  ©otte^,  bap  (ix,  aU  ber 
einige  ^erjenölünbiger,  ber  SÖa^r^eit 
3eugni§  roüUt  geben,  unb  mic^  jlrafen, 
fo  i(^  falfc^  ^vom ;  wd^t  (Sf)xt  benn 
leiner  (Kreatur  gebühret* 


Question  102. 
May  we  swear  by  the  saints,  or 
any  other  creatures  f 

Answer. 
No :  for  a  lawful  oath  is  a  calling 
upon  God,  as  tlie  only  searcher  of 
hearts,  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth, 
and  to  punish  me  if  I  swear  false- 
ly;  which  honor  is  due  to  no  crea- 
tui*e. 


forage  103» 
3Baö  mitt  ®ütt    im  vierten  ®e^ 
Bot? 

5(ntJoort* 
©Ott  mitt  erf!ti(^,  ba§  baö  ^rebigt^ 
amt  unb  (S(^uten  ermatten  toetben,  unb 
\^,  fonbettii^  am  Feiertag,  ju  ber  (Bt^ 
meinbe  ©otteö  [teipig  fomme,  ba^  SSort 
©otte^  ju  ternen,  bie  Zeitigen  ©acra^ 
mente  ju  gebrauchen,  ben  ^errn  öffent^ 
li(^  anzurufen,  unb  ba^  c^rijllii^e  5tl^ 


Question  103. 
What  does  God  require  in  the 
foufi'ih  commandment  ? 

Answee. 
In  the  first  place :  that  the  min- 
istry of  the  Gospel  and  schools  be 
maintained;  and  that  I,  especially 
on  the  day  of  rest,  diligently  at- 
tend church,  to  learn  the  word  of 
God,  to  use  the  Holy  Sacraments, 
to  call  publicly  upon  the  Lord,  and 


24S 


CATECHISMUS. 


jugeucnO*  Bum  anbern,  baf  icj>  alte 
ta^t  meinet  lebend  lim  meinen  Bofen 
wercfe  feiere,  ben  ^S^tStS^l  bur(^  fei== 
nen  ®eijl  in  mir  iDurden  laJTe,  önb  alfo 
ben  emtgen  (Sabbat^  in  biefem  leBen 
anfange^)* 

/)  1  Cor.  16.    g)  Esai.  66. 

SKa^  »it  ®ott   im  funfften  ©e^ 
16ot? 

Sfntmott. 
!I)a§  id)  meinem  25ater  ünb  SQ^utter, 
ünb  atten  bie  mir  fürgefc^t  fein,  aUt 
e^re,  Uel)e  onb  trewe  ben?cifen,  onb  mi(^ 
aUer  guten  le^r  onb  f^rajf,  mit  get)ür= 
liebem  ge^orfam  önbertuerffen^),  onb 
au^  mit  jren  geBre(^en  gebult  ^at)en 
[oP),  bieweit  onö  ®Dtt  burc^  jt^re  l)anb 
regieren  juit")* 

a)  Ephes.  5.  et  6.  Ooloss.  3.  Prou.  1. 4. 15.  et 
20.  Exod.  21.  Kom.  13.  V)  Prou.  23.  Gen.  9. 
1  Pet.  2.  c)  Ephes.  6.  Ooloss.  3.  Eom.  13. 
Mat.  22. 

2Öa0    voll  ©Ott   im   \t^^in   ge^» 
lf»ot? 

5(nttuort* 
2)ap  t^  meinem  ne(^itett  n^eber  mit 


gam,  pro  facultatibus  aliquid  con- 
feram  in  pauperes.  Deinde,  nt  in 
omni  vita  a  pravis  actionibus  va- 
cem,  Domino  concedens,  ut  per 
Spiritum  Sanctum  in  me  suum 
opus  faciat,  atque  ita  sempiternum 
illud  Sabbatum  in  hac  vita  exor- 
diar. 

CIV. 

Quid  nohis  injungit  Deus  in 
quinto  prcecepto  f 

Ut  parentibus,  atque  adeo  omni- 
bus qui  nobis  pra^sunt,  debitum 
honorem,  amorem  et  fidem  praeste- 
mus,  nosque  ipsorum  fidelibus  prsß- 
ceptis  et  castigationibus  ea,  qua 
par  est,  obedientia  submittamus; 
tum  etiam  ut  eorum  vitia  et  mores 
nostra  patientia  toleremus,  illud 
semper  cogitantes,  Deum  nos  il- 
lorum  manu  velle  ducere  ac  regere. 

CY. 

Quid  flagitat  Deus  in  sexto  proB- 
cepto  ? 

Ut  proximum,  neque  cogitatione, 


THE  HEroELBERG  CATECfflSM. 


249 


mofen  ju  geBen*  Qum  Stnbern,  baf  tc^ 
alle  ZaQt  meinet  CeBenö  öon  meinen 
bofen  2Ber!en  feiere,  ben  ^errn  burd) 
feinen  ©eifl  in  mir  mirfen  taffe,  unb 
alfo  ben  emigen  ^ablat^  in  biefem 
ßeBen  anfange. 


to  give  Christian  alms.  In  the  sec- 
ond place :  that  all  the  days  of  my 
life  I  rest  from  my  evil  works,  al- 
low the  Lord  to  work  in  me  by 
His  Spirit,  and  thus  begin  in  this 
life  the  everlasting  Sabbath. 


i^rage  104* 
Sao  mitt  ®ott  im  fünften  ®t^ 
Ibot? 

5(ntii?ort> 
2)af  i(^  meinem  25ater  unb  9)?utter, 
wnb  alten,  bie  mir  öorgefe^t  ftnb,  aHe 
(ii)xtf  Siek  unb  ^Treue  Ben?eifen,  unb 
mid)  atter  guten  Se^re  unb  ©träfe  mit 
geBü^rlicj)em  ©e^orfam  imterroerfen, 
unb  auä)  mit  il)ren  ®tbxtä)tn  ©ebulb 
l^akn  foü:  biemeil  unö  ®ott  burc^ 
il^re  ipanb  regieren  »itt* 


Question  104. 
What  does   God  require  in  the 
fifth  commandment  ? 

Akswee. 
That  I  show  all  honor,  love  and 
faithfulness  to  my  father  and  mo- 
ther, and  to  all  in  authority  over 
me;  submit  myself  with  due  obe- 
dience to  all  their  good  instruction 
and  correction;  and  also  bear  pa- 
tiently with  their  infirmities :  since 
it  is  God's  will  to  govern  us  by 
their  hand. 


^rage  105* 
SEBag  njitt  ®ott  im  fcc^fien  ®c^ 
Bot? 

5(ntn)ort* 

!J)ä§  i(^  meinen  S'läc^flen  tueber  mit 
32 


Question  105. 
What  does  God  require  in  the 
sixth  commandment  ? 

Answek. 
That  I  neither  in   thought,  nor 


250 


CATECHISMUS. 


gebanden,  noc^  mit  mortm  ober  geber^ 
ben,  öiel  mentget  mit  ber  t!^at,  burcj) 
mxä)  felbft  ober  anbere  fc{)me!^en,  ^aJTen, 
beletbigen,  ober  tobten"):  fonber  atte 
taadjgirtgleit  ablegen^),  au^  mi^ 
fetbft  nit  kfd)ebigen,  ober  mutmitlig  in 
gefa^r  ^begeben  foP)*  3)arum&  auä) 
bie  06er!eit,  bem  tobf(i)Iag  ^u  n^eren, 
ba^  ©Corner t  tregt*^)* 

a)  Matt.  5.  et  26.  Gen.  9.  b)  Ephes.  4. 
Eom.  12.  Matt.  5.  et  18.  c)  Rom.  13.  Ooloss. 
2.  Syr.  3.  Mat.  4.  d}  Gen.  9.  Exo.  21.  Mat, 
26.  Rom.  13, 

^rag. 

siebet    bo(^    bi§    get)ot    atlein  öo 
tobte  ? 

5(ntn)ort* 
Sg  mit  ünö  aber  @ott  burc^  oer* 
:bietung  beö  ^obtfd)tag^  lehren,  ba^  er 
bie  Wurzel  beö  tobtfc^lag^,  aU  neib "), 
:^a§^),  loxn^),  9f{a(^girig!eit,  ^aJTet,  on 
i>a^  folc^e^  atte^  für  j^m  ein  l;eimlid)er 
tobtfc^lagfe^'). 

a)  Rom.  1,  J)  1  loh.  2.  c)  lac.  1.  Galat,  5. 
(T)  1  loh.  3, 

?^rag* 
3j^ö   akr  bamit    gnug,  ba^  toir 
onfern  ne(^jlen,  mie  gemelt,  nit  t6b== 
ten? 


neque  verbis,  neque  gestibus,  ne- 
dum  factis,  vel  per  ine,  vel  per  ali- 
um,  contumelia  afficiam,  aut  oderini, 
aut  laedam,  aut  occidam;  sed  om- 
nem  vindictge  cupiditatem  abjici- 
am:  ad  ligec  ne  me  ipsum  laedam, 
aut  sciens  me  in  aliquod  periculum 
conjiciam ;  quocirca  etiam,  ne  csedes 
fierent,  Magistratum  Deus  gladio 
armavit. 


GVL 

Atqui  JioG  proBGeptum  solam  cce- 
dem  proJiibere  videtur. 

At  csedem  prohibendo,  docet 
Deus  se  radicem  et  originem  caedis, 
iram  scilicet,  invidiam,  odium,  et 
vindictsB  cupiditatem  odisse,  atque 
ea  omnia  pro  csede  ducere. 


CYII. 

An  vero  id  satis  est,  nos  nemi- 
nem eo,  quo  dictum  est,  modo  occi- 
dere  f 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


251 


®eban!en,  nod)  mit  SBorten  ober  Oe^ 
Ijcrben,  ötel  iDeniget  mit  ber  ^(;at, 
buvi^  mi^  fetbj^  ober  5(nbere,  fd)mä^ett, 
f)a\\tn,  Beleibigen  ober  tobten ;  fonbern 
aUt  9'?a(i)gierig!eit  aBiegen,  au^  mic^ 
\dhft  nicj)t  Beft^äbigen,  ober  mut§ioit== 
lig  in  ©efa^r  kgekn  folt*  2)arum 
au^  bie  €)Brig!eit,  bem  5robtfd}Iag  ju 
toe^ren,  ha^  (Sc^toert  trägt* 


in  word  or  look,  mucli  less  in  deed, 
revile,  hate,  insult  or  kill  my  neigh- 
boi-,  whether  by  myself  or  by  an-, 
other;  but  lay  aside  all  desire  of 
revenge:  moreover,  that  I  harm 
not  myself,  nor  wilfully  run  into 
any  danger.  Wherefore  also,  to 
restrain  murder,  the  magistrate  is 
armed  with  the  sword. 


^rage  106* 
Sflebet  boc^  biefe^  @ebot  allein  öom 
5:öbtcn  ? 

Stntmort* 
(S0  ToxU  nn0  aBer  ®ott  burd)  S^er^^ 
ttetung  beö  ^obtfc^Iag^  tel^ren,  ba§  (Sr 
bic  SÖurjel  beö  5robtfd)Iagö,  aU  9^eib, 
^a§,  Born,  9^a(^gtertgleit,  ^ajTe,  unb 
ba§  fol(^e0  atte^  üor  5^m  ein  l^eim^ 
lieber  ii:obtf(^Iag  fei* 


QuESTioisr  106. 
£ut  this  coTin/mandment  speahs 
onl/y  of  Mlling  ? 

Answee. 
In  forbidding  this,  however,  God 
means  to  teach  us  that  He  abhors 
the  root  of  murder,  namely,  envy^, 
hatred,  anger  and  desire  of  re- 
venge ;  and  that  all  these  are  in 
His  sight  hidden  murder. 


^rage  107*  Question  107. 

%^^  a^er  bamit  genng,  ba§  toir  Is  it  then  enough  that  we  do  not 

unfern  S'läc^jien,  mie  gcmelbct,  ni(^t  hill   (mr   neighlor   in   any  such 

tobten  ?  way  ? 


252 


CATECHISMUS. 


5Zem*  X)enn  in  bent  ®ott  neib, 
^a^  önb  jotn  öerbampt:  »it  er  üon 
»n^  !^akn,  ba§  n)ir  onfern  ne(i)j!en  lie^^ 
Ben  al^  m^  f^t^ftOr  Ö^Ö^^  i^^  gebxitt, 
friebe,  fanfftmut^  ^),  barm^er^igleit ") 
önb  freunbligleit  "^)  erzeigen,  feinen 
[c^aben,  fouiel  m^  moglicf),  abnjen=* 
ben^),  »nb  aud)  onfern  feinben  gut^ 
t^unO* 

a)  Matt.  7.  et  22.  &)  Ephes.  4.  Galat.  6. 
Matt.  5.  Eom.  12.  c)  Matt.  5.  Luc.  6.  d)  Rom. 
12.     e)  Exod.  23.    /)  Matt.  5.  Rom.  12. 

^rag* 
2Baö  tuil  ba^  fteknbc  ®et)ot  ? 

^Tntnjott* 
2)a§  at(e  ünleufc^^ett  öon  ®ott  »er^ 
ntalebe^et  fe^"),  önb  bap  tt)ir  barumb 
i^r  öon  i^er^en  feinb  fein  ^),  onb  lenfc^ 
önb  jüc^tig  leben  fotten*'),  -eö  fe^  im 
l^eitigen  (S^ejlanbt  ober  auffer^^alb  bef== 
felknO* 

a)  Leuit.  18.  5)  ludae  1.  c)  1  Thess.  4. 
d)  Heb.  13.  1  Cor.  7. 


Non  est  satis:  dum  enim  Dens 
iram,  invidiam,  odium  damnat, 
postulat  ut  proximum  seque  ac  nos 
ipsos  diligamus,  et  ut  humanitate, 
lenitate,  -mansuetudine,  patientia 
et  misericordia  erga  eum  utamur, 
quodque  ei  damno  esse  possit, 
quantum  in  nobis  est,  avertamus ; 
ad  summam,  ita  animo  affecti  si- 
mus,  ut  ne  inimicis  quidem  bene- 
facere  dubitemus. 

CVIII. 

QucB  est  sententia  septimi  prcB- 
cepti  ? 

Deum  omnem  turpitudinem  ex- 
secrari,  ideoque  nos  eam  penitus 
odisse  et  detestari  debere;  con- 
traque,  temperanter,  modeste  et 
caste,  sive  in  sacro  conjugio,  sive  in 
vita  ccelibe,  vivere  oportere. 


^rag.  CIX. 

35erkut  ©Ott  in  biefent  geBot  nl^t^  Nihilne  amplius  proMhet  Dens 

me^r  benn  (S^eBrui^  önb  ber gleiten  hoc  prcecepto^  quam  adulterium^  et 

f(^anben?  id  genus  turpitudinisf 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


253 


S(nttt)ort* 
S^letn :  benn  inbem  ®ott  5^eib,  ipa§ 
unb  Botn  oerbammt,  \t>iU  dx  oon  unö 
i^aben,  ba§  mir  unfern  5Zäc^flen  ltet)en 
aU  UM  felbjl,  gegen  t^n  ©ebiitb,  ^rie^ 
be,  «Sanftmut^,  SSarml^erjigleit  unb 
greunbli(^feit  erjetgen,  feinen  ®d)aben, 
fo  üiel  un^  möglid^,  atjwenben,  unb 
au^  unfern  f^einben  ©ute^  tl;un* 


Answee. 
No:  for  in  condemning  envy, 
hatred  and  anger,  God  requires  us 
to  love  our  neighbor  as  oiu'selves, 
to  show  patience,  peace,  meekness, 
mercy  and  kindness  towards  him, 
and,  so  far  as  we  have  power,  to 
prevent  his  hurt ;  also  to  do  good 
even  unto  our  enemies. 


^rage  108*  • 
SSa^  Witt  ba^  fieknte  ®et)ot  ? 

5tntmort* 
T)a^  atte  Unleuf^^eit  oon  ®ott  öer* 
malebeiet  fei,  unb  bap  mir  barum  t^r 
oon  ^erjen  feinb  fein,  unb  leufd)  unb 
jü(^tig  lekn  fotten,  e^  fei  im  Zeitigen 
(S^ej^anb  ober  auf er'^att)  bejfet&eut 


Question  108. 
What  does  the  seventh  command- 
ment teach  us  ? 

Answee. 
That  all  unchastity  is  accursed 
of  God ;  and  that  we  should  there- 
fore loathe  it  fi'om  the  heart,  and 
live  chastely  and  modestly  whether 
in  holy  wedlock  or  single  life. 


grage  109. 
iBerbietet  ®ott    in   biefem  @et)ot 
nic^tö  me^r  benn  ^^ebrui^  unb  ber== 
gleichen  ©c^anben  ? 


Question  109. 
Does  God  in  this  commandment 
forbid  nothing  more  than  adultery^ 
and  such  lihe  gross  sins  ? 


254 


CATECHISMTJS. 


%nt\t>oxt* 

Xiumil  Be^be  öitfer  lei6  önb  feel 
tempel  beö  ^eiligen  ©eijlö  fein,  fo  mil 
et,  bap  mir  fie  Be^be  faukr  onb  fettig 
kmaren*  S5erBeut  ber^aI6e  alte  ün^ 
!eufd)e  traten,  gebetben,  mort^),  ge^ 
bancfen,  lujl^),  unb  maö  ben  menfd)en 
barju  teilen  mag*')* 

a)  Eplies.  5.  1  Cor.  6.  h)  Mat.  5.  c)  Eplies. 
5.  1  Cor.  15. 

^tag. 
2Öaö  oetkut  ®ott  im  a(^ten  ®e^ 
Bot? 

5(ntmott» 
gt  öetBeut  nid)t  altein  ben  bieBj^al ") 
ijnb  tauBetei^^),  meiere  bie  Obet!eit 
fttafft :  fonbet  ®ott  nennet  aucl)  bieB== 
ftal  alte  Bofe  ftü(J  önb  anfd)Iege,  bamit 
mit  önfetö  ne^jlen  gut  gebenden  an 
ün^  ju  Btingen,  eö  fe^  mit  gemalt  obet 
fc^ein  be^  xtdjttm ") :  al0  i?nte($tem 
gemixt "^),  (^lfn,  map*),  ma^te,  mün|, 
mu(^et^),  obet  but(^  einiget  mittel, 
baö  oon  ®ott  oetbotten  ijl::  2)atju 
auc^  alten  gei^^),  ünb  onnü^e  oet^* 
f(^menbung  feinet  gaBen^)* 

a)  1  Cor.  6.  5)  1  Cor.  5.  c)  Luc.  3.  1  Thess. 
4.  d)  Prou.  11.  et  16.  e)  Eze.  45.  Deut.  25. 
/)  Psal.  15.  Luc.  6.    j?)  1  Cor.  6.     h)  Prou.  5. 


Cum  corpus  et  animus  noster 
templa  sint  Spiiitus  Sancti,  vult 
Deus,  ut  utrumque  pure  sancteque 
possideamus ;  ideoque  facta,  gestus, 
sermones,  cogitationes,  cupiditates 
foedas,  et  quicquid  liominem  ad  ista 
allicit,  id  Universum  proliibet. 


CX. 

Q2iid  vetat  Deus  in  octavo  preß- 
cepto  f 

Non  solum  ea  furta  et  rapinas, 
quas  magistratus  punit;  sed  furti 
nomine  comprehendit  quicquid  est 
malarum  artium  et  aucupiorum, 
quibus  aliena  captamus,  et  ad  nos 
vi  aut  specie  recti  transferre  stude- 
mus ;  qualia  sunt  iniquum  pondus, 
injusta  ulna,  inaequalis  mensura, 
fiicosa  merx,  fallax  moneta,  usura, 
aut  alia  quaevis  ratio  vel  modus 
rem  faciendi  a  Deo  interdictus. 
His  adde  omnem  avaritiam,  multi- 
plicemque  divinorum  donorum  pro- 
fusionem  et  abusum. 


THE  HEroELBERG  CATECHISM. 


255 


;i)ten)eil  Beibe  unfet  Seib  unb  @eele 
Stempel  beö  l^eiligen  (3dfk^  finb,  fo 
tüiU  (Er,  bap  mir  fte  l)eibe  faukr  imb 
l^eilig  Bemal;ren;  oerMetet  berl)aI6en 
atte  unleufc^e  3:f)aten,  ©eberben,  2ßor^ 
te,  ©ebanlen,  Sufi,  xmb  iua^  bm  3)Jen^ 
fd)en  baju  reiben  mag* 


AlfSWEE. 

Since  our  body  and  soul  are  botli 
temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  is 
His  will  tliat  we  keep  both  pure 
and  holy;  for  which  reason  He 
forbids  all  unchaste  actions,  ges- 
tures, words,  thoughts,  desires,  and 
whatever  may  entice  thereto. 


^ragc  lio* 
SOSa^  üeri)ietet  ®ott  im  ad^ten  ©c^^ 
bot? 

5lntmort* 
dx  uxWttt  nic^t  allettt  ben  T)xtb^ 
\ia\)l  unb  9ftäukrei,  vodä)t  bte  Ohng^ 
fett  jlraft;  fonbern  ©ott  nennet  anä) 
3)iebftaf)l  alle  U\t  (Stü(^e  unb  %n^ 
fd)Iäge,  bamlt  n»ir  unfere^  5^äc^|^en 
®ut  gebenlen  an  un^  ju  Bringen,  eö 
[et  mit  ©emalt  ober  (Sd)ein  beö  3^ed)^ 
te^,  aU  unre(^tem  ©en>id)t,  Site, 
3}?aaf?,  SBaare,  9}iimje,  2Öud)er,  ober 
bur(^  einiget  9}ZitteI,  ba^  üon  ©Ott 
üerBoten  ift ;  baju  auc^  atten  ®eij  unb 
unnü^e  ^Serfi^toenbung  feiner  (Baku* 


Question  110. 
What  does    God  forbid  in   tJie 
eighth  commandme7it  f 

Answee. 
Not  only  such  theft  and  robbery 
as  are  punished  by  the  magistrate ; 
but  God  views  as  theft  also  all 
wicked  tricks  and  devices,  whereby 
we  seek  to  draw  to  ourselves  oui- 
neighbor's  goods,  whether  by  force 
or  with  show  of  right,  such  as  un- 
just weights,  ells,  measures,  w^ares, 
coins,  usury,  or  any  means  forbidden 
of  God ;  so  moreover  all  covetous- 
ness,  and  all  useless  waste  of  His 
gifts. 


256 


CATECHISMUS. 


2Öa^  gebeut  bh  aUx  ®ott  in  biefem 

Sfntwort* 
X)a^  ic^  meinet  nec^jlen  nii^,  n?o  i$ 
fan  onb  mag,  furbere,  gegen  j^m  atfo 
l^anble,  mie  id)  motte,  bap  man  mit  mit 
l^anblete^),  m  tremli(^  arbeite,  auff 
ba§  i(^  bem  burfftigen  in  feiner  not^ 

a)  Mat.  v.    &)  Ephes.  4. 

^rag* 
SCßa^  mil  baö  neunb  gebot  ? 

5(ntmort* 
!J)ap  ic^  miber  niemanb  fatf(^e  jeug^» 
ttup  gek^),  niemanb  feine  mort  oer^ 
lerc^),  lein  affterreber  önb  lejlerer 
fe^e''),  ^^iemanb  önuer^ort,  ün  Ieic()t=' 
ü(^  üerbammen  I)elffe  ^)  :  fonber  altera 
le^  liegen  önb  triege,  aU  eigene  xotxd 
beö  ^enfelö"),  be^  f(^merem  Ootteö= 
3orn  öermeibe^),  3tt  geri^t^  önb  atten 
anbcrn  ^anblungen  bie  marl;eit  liebe, 
an ffri(^tig  fage  ön  belenne^),  and)  mei=* 
neö  nec^ften  e^re  önb  gtimpff  waö)  mei^ 
nem  öermogen  rette  önb  fnrbere'')* 

d)  Prou.  19.  et  21.  l)  Psal.  15.  c)  Eom.  1. 
(Z)  Mat.  Y.  Luc.  6.  c)  loh.  8.  /)  Prou.  12.  et 
13.     g)  1  Cor.  13.  Ephes.  4.     7*)  1  Pet.  4. 


CXI. 

§2^cß   «ji^Ti^   ea,   quce    Dens   hie 

juhet  f 

Ut  commoda  et  utilitates  proxi- 
mi,  quantum  possim,  adjuvem  et 
augeam ;  cum  eo  sie  agam,  ut  me- 
eum  agi  cuperem ;  sedulo  et  fidel  i- 
ter  opus  faciam,  ut  aliorum  quoque 
egestati  ac  calamitati  subvenire 
queam. 

CXII. 

Quid  exigit  nonum  proecep- 
tum? 

Ne  adversus  quempiam  dicam 
falsum  testimonium,  nullius  verba 
calumnier,  nulli  obtrectem,  aut  con- 
vitium  faciam,  neminem  temere  vel 
indicta  causa  condemnem;  verum 
omnis  generis  mendacia,  fraudes,  ut 
opera  Diaboli  propria,  nisi  in  me 
gravissimam  iram  Dei  concitare 
velim,  omni  cura  fugiam ;  in  judiciis 
cseterisque  negotiis  veritatem  sec- 
ter,  et  id  quod  res  est  libere  con- 
stänterque  profitear :  ad  haec  famam 
aliorum  et  existimationem,  quan- 
tum queam,  defendam  et  augeam. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


257 


%xaQt  111* 

2Öa3  gclnetet  bit  aBer  ®ott  in  bie* 
fem®el5ot? 

5(ntn?ott* 

2)a§  {^  tnemeö  ^^imien  9f?u|en,  wo 
i^  !ann  unb  mag,  forbete,  gegen  i^n 
atfo  l^anbele,  mie  id)  irottte  bap  man  mit 
mir  ^anbelte,  unb  treulid)  arbeite,  auf 
H^  icj)  bem  2)iirftigen  in  feiner  S'Zot^ 
l^elfen  möge* 


Question  111. 
JBut  what  does  God  require  of 
thee  in  this  commandment  f 

Akswee. 
That  I  further  my  neiglibor's 
good,  where  I  can  and  may ;  deal 
with  him  as  I  would  have  others 
deal  with  me ;  and  labor  faithfully, 
that  I  may  be  able  to  help  the  poor 
in  their  need. 


i^rage  112* 
2Öa^  Witt  ba^  neunte  ®e:6Dt? 

Stntmort* 
2)a§  i(^  miber  5^iemanb  falfc^ 
Bcugni§  gebe,  5^iemanb  feine  SBorte 
»erlel^re,  fein  5(fterreber  unb  i^äfterer 
fei,  5^{emanb  unöer{;ört  unb  leid^tlid) 
öerbammen  l^elfe ;  fonbern  aüerlei  2ü= 
gen  unb  3;rügen,  atö  eigene  SBcr!e  beö 
iteufelö,  bei  fernerem  ©otteögorn  öer= 
metbe,  in  ©eri^t^==  unb  atten  anbern 
^anblungen  bie  2Ba^r!^eit  liebe,  auf= 
rid)tig  fage  unb  belenne,  aud)  meinet 
9Zä(^j!en  ^^re  unb  ©timpf,  na(^  mei*= 
nem  SSermögen,  rette  unb  förberc* 


Question  112. 

What  is  required  in  the  ninth 
commandment  ? 

Answee. 

That  I  bear  false  witness  against 
no  one ;  wrest  no  one's  words ;  be 
no  backbiter,  or  slanderer ;  join  in 
condemning  no  one  unheard  and 
rashly :  but  that  I  avoid,  on  pain 
of  God's  heavy  wrath,  all  lying  and 
deceit,  as  being  the  proper  works 
of  the  Devil ;  in  matters  of  judg- 
ment and  justice  and  in  all  other 
affairs,  love,  honestly  speak  and 
confess  the  truth;  and,  so  far  as  I 
can,  defend  and  promote  my  neigh- 
bor's good  name. 


33 


258 


CATECmSMUS. 


:Da§  auc^  bte  gering|!e  luj!  ob* 
gcbante  wtber  {rgenb  ein  o,tbot  ©ot^^ 
te0,  in  onfer  ^er^  nimmetmel^r  lomen : 
fonber  n)ir  für  önb  für  öon  ganzem 
l^er^en  alter  fünbe  felnb  [ein,  onb  tujl 
p  alter  gere(^tig!eit  l)aben  fotten")* 

a)  Rom.  7. 

Tonnen  akr  bie  ju  ®ott  befert  fmb, 
folc^e  3et)0t  üolfontlid}  (;alten  ? 

Stntwort* 

^dn :  fonber  e^  !^akn  auä)  bie  alter 
]^eiligj!en,  fo  lang  fie  in  biefem  lekn 
finb,  nur  einen  geringen  anfang  biefem 
ge^orfamö ") :  boc^  alfo,  bap  fte  mit 
ernftli(^em  fürfa^,  nid)t  altein  mä^  tU 
li(^en,  fonber  nacl)  aüen  gesotten  ©ot^ 
te^  anfangen  ju  leben  ^)* 

a)  1  loh.  1.    Rom.  7.   Eccl.  7.    h)  Rom.  7. 
lac.  2. 


CXIII. 

§m<^  proTiibet  decimum  p^cBcep- 
tum  f 


Ne  vel  minima  cupiditate,  aut 
cogitatione,  adversus  ullum  Dei 
prseceptum  corda  nostra  unquam 
solicitentur ;  sed  ut  perpetuo  et  ex 
animo  omne  peccatum  detestemur, 
contraque  omni  justitia  delectemur. 

CXIV. 

Possuntne  autem  iU%  qui  ad 
Deiim  co7iversi  sunt,  Twee  prcecepta 
perfecte  servare  f 

Minime:  verum  etiam  sanctissi- 
mi  quique,  quamdiu  in  hac  vita 
sunt,  hal^ent  tantum  exigua  initia 
hujus  obedientise;  sie  tamen,  ut 
serio  ac  non  simulato  studio,  non 
secundum  aliqua  tantum,  sed  se- 
cundum omnia  Dei  prsecepta  vivere 
incipiant. 


^rag*  CXV. 

SCßarumb  le|i  on^  benn  ©ott  alfo         Our  igitur  vult  Deus  legem  suam 
fc^arff  bie  je^en  ©eBot  ^rebigen,  »eil     adeo  exacte  et  severe prcedica/ri,  cum 


THE  HErDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


259 


grage  113. 
2Ba^  toiUha^  Sel;nte  ®ebt? 

'^a^  and)  bie  geringj^e  Suf!  ober 
©ebaulen  tuiber  irgenb  ein  ©ebot  G5ot^ 
teö  in  unfer  ^erj  ntmmermel^r  lom=' 
men;  fonbern  «jir  für  imb  für  öon 
ganzem  ^erjen  alter  ©ünbe  feinb  fein, 
xinb  ßuft  ju  aller  ©ere^tigleit  l;akn 
fotlen* 

grage  114* 
können  aBer  bte  ju  ©Ott  ^ele^^ret 
fmb,   folc^e  ©eBote  üoUlommen   l)aU 
ten? 

5(ntn?ort* 
S^lein:  fonbern  e^  ^ahtn  auö)  bie 
Stt(er()eiligften,  fo  lange  fie  in  biefem 
ßefeen  fmb,  nur  einen  geringen  5(nfang 
biefeö  ©cl)orfamö;  bo(^  alfo,  bajj  fte 
mit  crnftlid)em  3>orfa^,  ni^t  allein 
nai^  etlid)en,  fonbern  nad)  aüen  ©ebo^ 
ten  ©otte^  anfangen  ju  leben* 


Question  113. 
What  is  required  in   tlie  tenth 
commandment  f 

Answee. 
That  not  even  the  least  inclina- 
tion or  thought  against  any  of 
God's  commandments  ever  enter 
into  oui'  heart ;  but  that,  with  our 
whole  heart,  we  continually  hate 
all  sin,  and  take  pleasure  in  all 
righteousness. 

QUESTIOI^   114. 
Can  those  who  are  converted  to 
God  heep  these  commandments  per- 
fectly f 

Answer. 
No:  but  even  the  holiest  men, 
while  in  this  life,  have  only  a  small 
beginning  of  this  obedience;  yet 
so,  that  with  earnest  purpose  they 
begin  to  live,  not  only  according 
to  some,  but  according  to  all  the 
connnandments  of  God. 


?5rage  115*  Question  115. 

SBarum  la^t  unö  benn  ©ott  alfo        Why  then  doth  God  so  strictly 
fi^atf  bie  je^n  ©eljotc  prebigen,  »eil     enjoin  upon  us  the  ten  command- 


260 


CATECHISMUS. 


ftc  in  biefem  lekn   nlemanb  Italien 
fan? 

gtj^ti^  auff  bj  JDtr  »nfer  gan^c^ 
Ict)enlang  onfer  fünbli(^e  art  jc  lenger 
it  mt^x  etiennen  *),  önb  foutet  bej^o  It^ 
gtriger  öergcBung  ber  funben  önb  gc*^ 
red)tig!eit  in  ß^^rifto  fu(^en^).  T>at^ 
mä)  ba§  »it  o!^ne  onberlap  on^  befiel^ 
([en,  öub  @ott  bitten  umb  bie  gnabe 
beö  ^eiligen  ®eij^^,  baf  mir  je  lenger 
je  mei^r  pi  bem  ebenbilb  Ootte^  erne»^ 
crt  werben,  bif  mx  ba^  jiel  ber  üol^ 
foinen^eit  na$  biefem  leben  enei^ 
(^enO* 

a)  1  loh.  1.  Psal.  32.     J)  Rom.  7.    c)  1  Cor. 
9.  Phil.  3. 


^emö  <9^Y  in  Jiac  vita,  qui  earn  ser- 
varepossitf 

Primum,  ut  in  omni  vita  magis 
magisque  agnoscamus,  quanta  sit 
naturae  nostrse  ad  peccandum  pro- 
pensio,  tantoque  avidius  remissio- 
nem  peccatorum  et  justitiam  in 
Christo  expetamus ;  deinde,  ut  lioc 
perpetuo  agamus,  illud  semper  me- 
ditemur,  et  gratiam  Spiritus  Sancti 
a  Patre  imploremus,  quo  indies 
magis  ac  magis  ad  imaginem  Dei 
renovemur,  donec  aliquando  tan- 
dem, postquam  ex  hac  vita  decesse- 
rimus,  propositam  nobis  perfectio- 
nem  Iseti  assequamui'. 


THE  HErDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


261 


fic  in  biefem  Seten  S'liemanb  fatten 
!ann? 

(Jtjllt^,  auf  baf  »ir  unfer  ganje^ 
ßeBen  lang  unfere  fiinbttc^e  S(tt  je  tän* 
ger  je  me^r  erlennen,  unb  fo  oiel  be|!o 
Begieriger  33ergebung  ber  (Sünben  unb 
©erec^ttgleit  in  S^rij^o  fud^en;  bar^ 
na^,  ba§  wir  o^ne  Unterlaß  un^  Be^ 
flei^en,  unb  ®ott  Bitten  urn  bic  ®nabe 
beö  ^eiligen  ©eifte^,  baf  wir  je  länger 
je  me^r  ju  bem  (SbenBitbe  ©otteö  er^ 
neuert  werben,  U^  wir  ha^  ßid  ber 
iBotHommen^eit  mä^  biefem  2ekn  er^ 
reicben» 


TnentSy  since  in  this  life  no  one  can 
Iceep  them? 

Answer. 
First,  that  all  our  life  long  we 
may  learn  more  and  more  to  know 
our  sinful  nature,  and  so  tlie  more 
earnestly  seek  forgiveness  of  sins 
and  righteousness  in  Christ;  sec- 
ondly, that  we  may  continually 
strive,  and  beg  from  God  the  grace 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  so  as  to  become 
more  and  more  changed  into  the 
image  of  God,  till  we  attain  finally 
to  full  perfection  after  this  life. 


262 


CATECmSMUS. 


SBom    (BeBct. 


DE   PEECATIONE 


SGBarumb  ijl  ben  (S^rtjten  ba^  ®ebet 
nötig  ? 

^tntwort* 
DaruntB,  ba§  eö  ba^  fürnembfte  jlud 
ber  ban(f6ar!eit  ijl,  metd)e  ©ott  »on 
ünö  erforbett^),  33nb  ba§  @ott  feine 
genabe  önb  i^eilige  ©eij!  allein  benen 
n)U  geben,  bie  jl)n  mit  ^er|Ud)em  feuf* 
|en  o^ne  önbetlap  barumb  bitten,  önb 
Jm  batfur  banden^)* 

a)  Psal.  50.    h)  Matt.  7.  et  13.  Luc.  11. 

2Ba^  ge^^otet  ju  einem  foI(i)en  geBett 
bag  @Dtt  gefalle,  onb  oon  jm  erhöret 
»erbe  ? 

5tntmort» 
(Erftti(^  ba9  tuir  allein  ben  einige 
waren  ®ott,  ber  fid)  önö  in  feinem 
iDort  ^at  offenbaret  "^),  ümB  aUee  bap 

a)  loh.  4. 


CXVI. 

Quare  Christianis  necessaria  est 
Precatio  f 

Quia  prsecipua  pars  est  ejus, 
quam  Deus  a  nobis  postulat,  grati- 
tudinis;  turn  quia  illis  tantum 
suam  gratiam  et  Spiritum  Sanctum 
Deus  largitur,  qui  veris  gemitibus 
continenter  lasec  ab  eo  petunt,  et 
pro  iis  ipsi  gratias  agunt. 

CXVII. 

QucB  ad  earn  precationem  requi- 
runtur,  quce  Deo  placeat^  quceque  ah 


ipso  exaudiatur  f 


Ut  a  solo  vero  Deo,  qui  se  in 
verbo  suo  patefecit,  omnia,  quae  a 
se  peti  jussit,  vero  cordis  affectu 


THE  HEroELBERG  CATECHISM. 


263 


^om   ®  cBct. 


OF    PRAYER 


^ragc  116* 
SBarum  t|l  ben  (S^rtftcn  ba^  ®e^et 
nöt^ig  ? 

5(nttüort. 
2)arunt,  weit  eö  baö  oorne^tnfte  @tücE 
ber  X)anlbarlett  t|!,  me^e  ®ott  öon 
UM  etfoTbert;  xtnb  weil  ©Ott  feine 
©nabe  unb  l^eitigen  ©eift  allein  benen 
miß  geten,  bie  ^^n  mit  l)er5U(^em 
©eufjen  o^ne  Unterlaß  barum  Utttn, 
iinb  3§m  bafür  banlen* 


Question  116. 
Why  is  Prayer  necessary  for 
Christians  ? 

Answek. 
Because  it  is  the  cMef  part  of 
the  thankfulness  which  God  re- 
quires of  us ;  and  because  God  will 
give  His  grace  and  Holy  Spirit  only 
to  such,  as  earnestly  and  without 
ceasing  beg  them  from  Him,  and 
render  thanks  unto  Him  for  them. 


i^tage  117»  Question  llT. 

SSa^  gel;5rt  ju  einem  folc^en  ®ekt,  What    belongs    to  such  prayer^ 

ba^  ®Dtt  gefalle,  unb  oon  3{)Wi  erhört  as  God  is  pleased  with  and  will 

»erbe?  hear? 

Stntmott»  Answee. 

@r|lli(^,  bap  mir  aHein  ben  einigen  First,  that  from  the  heart  we 

wa'^ren  ®ott,  ber  fi(^  \xM  in  feinem  call  only  upon  the  one  true  God, 

SCBort  ^at  geoffenbaret,  um  ^Ke^,  ba^  who  has  revealed  Himself  to  us  in 


264 


CATECHISMUS. 


er  ünö  ju  "bitten  Befolgten  ^at^),  üon 
l^er^e  anrujfen")*  Bum  anbcrn,  ba§ 
lüir  ünfere  not^  ünb  elenb  rec^t  grünb* 
lief)  ertennen^),  onö  für  bem  angefii^t 
feiner  90?aieftet  5U  bemutigen  •)♦  Bum 
brüten,  ba§  wir  biefen  fejlen  grunb 
^abtn^),  ba§  er  onfer  geBett,  önange^ 
fe^en  bap  n>irö  »nwirbig  feinb,  boc^ 
ümb  be^  ip(S9f?3R5fl  (S^rifii  njitten  ge^ 
n^iflic^  motte  erl^oren^),  n?ie  er  on^  in 
feinem  n?ort  öerl)eijfen  |at^)* 

J)  Rom.  8.  1  loh.  5.  c)  loh.  4.  d)  2  Pa.  20. 
e)  Psal.  2.  et  34.  Esai.  66.  /)  Rom.  10.  lac.  1. 
<7)  loh.  14.  Dan.  9.     h)  Mat.  7.  Psal.  143. 

2Bag  ^at  önö  ®ott  l)efol^Ien  öon  Jm 
ju  l)itten  ? 


petamus ;  ex  intimo  nostrse  indigen- 
tias  ac  miserise  sensu,  nos  in  con- 
spectu  divinse  Majestatis  supplices 
abjiciamus ;  huic  firmo  fundamento 
innitamur,  nos  a  Deo,  quanquam 
indignos,  propter  Cliristuni  tarnen 
certo  exaudiri,  quemadmodum  no- 
bis in  verbo  suo  promisit. 


CXVIII 

Quce    sunt   ea^  quce  a  se  peti 
jijibet  ? 


Stntmort* 

Wii  gcif^tic^e  on  leiBIic^e  notburfft "),         Omnia  tum  animae  tum  corpori 

XOtl^t  ber  $(£9?9t  S^rijlu^  Begriffen  necessaria,    quae    Dominus    noster 

l^at  in  bem  ©eBett,  ba^  er  ön^  felBfl  Jesus  Christus  ea  precatione,  quam 

gele^ret*  nos  ipse  docuit,  complexus  est. 

d)  lacob.  1.  Mat.  6. 


Sßic  lautet  balTcIk? 


CXIX. 

QucB  est  illa  precatiof 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


265 


(2r  un^  ju  Bitten  Befo'^Ien  ^at,  öon  ^er^ 
Jen  anrufen;  junt  Stnbern,  ba§  mir 
unfere  ^j'lot!^  unb  Stenb  rei^t  grünbli(^ 
erlennen,  un^  oor  bem  StngefK^t  feiner 
SO'Jajeftät  pi  bemüt^igen;  jum  ;i)ritten, 
bap  mir  biefen  fejlen  ©runb  l^abcn,  ba§ 
dx  unfer  ©ekt,  unangefe^en  bap  mir^ö 
unmürbig  fmb,  boc^  um  beö  ^errn 
ß^rijlt  »iUen  geiriflicj)  motte  erhören, 
n)ie  Sr  unö  in  feinem  Sßort  oer!^eifen 


His  word,  for  all  that  He  has  com- 
manded us  to  ask  of  Him ;  second- 
ly, that  we  thoroughly  know  our 
need  and  misery,  so  as  to  humble 
ourselves  before  the  face  of  His 
Divine  Majesty;  thirdly,  that  we 
be  firmly  assured,  that  notwith- 
standing our  unworthiness  He  will, 
for  the  sake  of  Christ  our  Lord, 
certainly  hear  our  prayer,  as  He 
has  promised  us  in  His  word. 


t^rage  118*  Question  118. 

2Bag  ^at  ung  ®ott  i>efo^Iett  »on        What  has  God  commanded  us  to 
S^m  ju  Bitten  ?  ash  of  Him  ? 


SIntmort* 

5Wte  gei|it{(i)e  unb  teiHic^e  ^Zof^^ 
burft,  wct^e  ber  ^err  S^riftuö  begrtf== 
fen  |at  in  bem  ®eBet,  ba^  Sr  un^ 
felBft  gele^ret* 


Answee. 

All  things  necessary  for  soul  and 
body,  which  Christ  our  Lord  has 
comprised  in  the  prayer  taught  us 
by  Himself. 


grage  119. 
SOßie  lautet  baffelk? 
34 


Question  119. 
What  is  the  Lord^s  Prayer  ? 


266 


CATECHISMUS. 


^iifcT';  33ater  ber  bu  bift  in 
^tmeln»  (S5e^>ciliget  werbe  be  in 
9Zame*  Dein  9^ci(^  lome,  !Dein 
»it  gefd)et)e,  auff  erben  n?ie  im 
l^imnteU  S^nfer  tegli(^  brob 
gib  »n^  ^eut*  35nb  »ercjib  »n^ 
onfer  f<^uU,  aU  aud)  wir  oer^ 
geben  onfern  fc^iutbigern.  33nb 
füre  on«  nic^t  in  oerfnc^ung, 
fonber  erlofe  on«  oom  befem* 
Denn  bein  ijl  ba«  reic^,  onb  bic 
frafft,  onb  bie  ^errligfeit  in 
cwigfeit,  3(nien. 

a)  Matt.  6.   Luc.  11. 

^rag. 

Sßarumb  ^at  on«  S^rijhi«  kfo^ten 
®ott  alfo  anjurcben,  3Snfer  35ater? 
Antwort* 

2)a§  er  gleii^  im  anfang  onfer«  ge^ 
Bett«  in  on«  crwecfe  bie  linblic^e  furcht 
onb  juuerfic^t  gegen  ©ott,  iocId)e  ber 
grunb  onfer«  gebet«  fol  fein :  5'^emli(i), 
bap  ®ott  onfer  25atcr  bnr(^  S^rijhim 
worben  fe^,  onb  toolte  on«  oiel  weniger 
oerfagen,  warumb  wir  }^n  im  gtanben 
bitten,  benn  onfere  33dter  on«  Jrbif(I)e 
bing  al)f(^Iagen^)* 

a)  Matt.  7.  Luc.  11. 


Pater  noster,  qui  es  in  coelis. 
Sanctificetur  nomen  tuum.  Veniat 
regnum  tuum.  Fiat  voluntas  tua, 
queuiadmodum  in  coelo,  sic  etiam 
in  terra.  Panem  nostrum  quotidia- 
num  da  nobis  hodie.  Et  remitte 
nobis  debita  nostra,  sicut  et  nos 
remittimus  debitoribus  nostris.  Et 
ne  nos  inducas  in  tentationem ;  sed 
libera  nos  a  malo.  Quia  tuum  est 
regnum,  et  potentia,  et  gloria,  in 
secula.     Amen, 


cxx. 

Curp?'cecipit  Ohrlstus,  tit  itaDe- 
um  Gompellemus :  Pater  Noster  ?- 

Ut  statim  in  ipso  precationis 
exordio,  convenientem  Dei  filiis  re- 
verentiam  et  fiduciam  erga  Deum 
in  nobis  excitet,  quae  nostrse  preca- 
tionis fundamentum  esse  debet; 
nimirum,  Deum  per  Christum  no- 
bis Patrem  factum  esse,  et  quss 
vera  fide  ab  eo  petimus  nobis  mul- 
to  minus  negare,  quam  parentes 
nostri  nobis  bona  terrena  denegant. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


26Y 


Antwort» 
ttnfcr  ^attXf  t»ct  bu  Mjl  in 
bcm  ^tmmel:  ©e^eiltget 
»erbe  bein  Ühiinc,  !t)eitt  9*tei^ 
!ommc,  X)citt  SBiltc  gefc^ebe 
auf  Srbcn,  »ie  im  jpimmel. 
Unfcr  täglid)  23rot  gicb  un^ 
l^eutc,  Unb  ücrgicb  un^  unfcrc 
<Sd)uIbcn,  ttJte  au(^  n?ir  öcrgeben 
unfern  (Sd)ulb{gern»  Hub  fü§rc 
uuö  nt<^t  in  S5erfud)uttg;  fon== 
bcm  erlöfc  unö  oom  23öfen* 
Xcnn  bctn  tfi  ba«  9lctd),  unb 
btc  Äraft,  unb  bte  ^crtlt(^!ctt 
tn  Swigfeit.    5(men. 

Stage  120* 
SBarum  ^at  S^rtjluö  befohlen  ®ott 
atfo  anjureben :  Unfer  35ater? 

5tntn)ott* 
!Daf  dx  glei(^  im  5(nfang  unfet^ 
©ebete  in  unö  etn>e(!e  bie  ltnbli(l)e 
^uti^t  unb  3woerfi<^t  gegen  ®ott, 
njelc^e  ber  ©tunb  unfetö  ©ebetö  fott 
fein;  nämtic^,  ba^  ®ott  unfer  35ater 
bur(^  S^rtjlum  geworben  fei,  unb  moüe 
un^  oiet  weniger  oerfagen,  warum  wir 
3^n  im  ©tauben  bitten,  benn  unfere 
SSäter  unö  irbifi^e  !Dinge  abf(^Iagen, 


Answee. 
Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven 
Hallowed  be  Thy  name.  Thy 
kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done 
in  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven.  Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  And 
forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive 
our  debtors.  And  lead  us  not  iuto 
temptation;  but  deliver  us  ft-om 
evil.  For  Thine  is  the  kingdom, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for 
ever.     Amen. 


Question  120. 

Why  has  Christ  commanded  us 
to  address  God  thus :  Our  Father  ? 
Answer. 

To  awaken  in  us,  at  the  very  be- 
ginuing  of  our  prayer,  that  filial 
reverence  and  trust  toward  God, 
which  are  to  be  the  ground  of  our 
prayer ;  namely,  that  God  has  be- 
come our  Father  through  Christ, 
and  will  much  less  deny  us  what 
we  ask  of  Him  in  faith,  than  our 
parents  refuse  us  earthly  things. 


268 


CATECHISMUS. 


2Öarum"6  wirb  ^tnjugct^an,  2)  er 
bu  l)ifl  in  ^tmmeltt? 

5(ntnjort* 
S(uff  ba§  wir  üon  ber  ^tmlifc^ett 
mait^tt  ®otteö,  ntc^t^  irbifc^  geben^ 
den"),  onb  »on  feiner  aümei^tigleit  alte 
notburfft  Idh^  önb  ber  feelen  gemar*= 
ten^)* 

a)  lere.  23.  Act.  17.    5)  Korn.  10. 

^rag. 
Sa^iftbieerfteSitt? 

5(nttt?ort, 
©c^eitiget  werbe  bein  S'lamc, 
bag  ijt,  gi^  üng  tx\ilx^  ba§  wir  bic^  rec^t 
erlennen''),  »nb  bid)  in  alten  beinen 
mxdtxif  in  »eichen  lenktet  beine  aU^ 
mec^tigfeit,  weif^eit,  gnte,  gerec^tigleit, 
l>arm^er^igleit  onb  war^eit,  ^eiligen, 
r^men  onb  ipreifen^).  X)arna(^  ani^ 
baf  wir  onfer  gan^eö  leten,  gebanto, 
Wort  önb  werd  ba^in  rid)ten,  baf  bein 
5Zamc  omB  onfert  Witten  nit  getejtert, 
fonber  gee^ret  önb  gepriefen  werbe')* 

a)  loh.   17.    Mat.   16.     lac.   1.    Psal.   119. 
h)  Psal.  119.  Rom.  11.    c)  Psal.  71.  et  115. 

^tag* 
SBa^ifibieanber  23itt? 


CXXI. 

Cur  additur :  Qui  es  in  ccelis  ? 


Ne  de  coelesti  maj  estate  Dei  liu- 
mile  quippiam  aut  terrenum  cogi- 
temus:  simul  etiam,  ut  ab  ejus 
omnipotentia,  qusecunque  animo  et 
corpori  sunt  necessaria,  exspecte- 
mus. 

CXXII. 

QucB  est  prima  petitio  ? 

Saistctificetue  nomeit  tuum.  Hoc 
est :  Da  principio,  ut  te  recte  agnos- 
camus,  et  lucentem  in  omnibus 
operibus  tuis  omnipotentiam,  sa- 
pientiam,  bonitatem,  justitiam,  mi- 
sericorcliam,  et  veritatem  tuam 
veneremur,  prsedicemus  et  celebre- 
mus;  deinde,  ut  universam  vitam 
nostram,  cogitationes,  sennones  et 
actiones,  eo  semper  dii'igamus,  ne 
sanctissimum  nomen  tuum  propter 
nos  contumelia  afficiatur,  sed  lio- 
nore  potius  et  laudibus  illustretur. 

cxxni. 

Qu(B  est  secunda  petitio  ? 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


269 


%xaQt  121* 
SÖatum   mrb   l^mjugetl^an :    !l)er 
bu  li^  in  bent  ^intmel? 

5(nttt)ort* 
5tuf  baf  tt>ir  Don  ber  ^^imtnlifc^en 
50iaiejlät  ©otte^  m^U  Stbtf(^eö  ge^ 
benlen,  unb  üon  feiner  Mmäd^ttgfeit 
aUt  S^lot^butft  Seiko  unb  ber  ©eele 
gewarten* 


Question  121. 
Why  is  it  added:  Who  aet  in 
Heaven  ? 

Answee. 
That  we  may  liave  no  eartUy 
thought  of  the  heavenly  majesty 
of  God ;  and  may  expect  from  His 
almighty  power  all  things  neces- 
sary for  body  and  soul. 


i^rage  122* 
S23a^iftbieer|^e23itte? 

Slntmort* 
©e^ieiliget  »erbe  betn  5'Zamc* 
2)a^  tft:  @ie:b  un^  erfttid),  ba§  »ir  3)i(3j) 
tec^t  eriennen,  nnb  ^ic^  in  aKen  beinen 
SBerlen,  in  n)el(!)en  leuct)tet  beine  WH^ 
ntäc^tigteit,  SBei^l^eit,  ®üte,  @erec^^ 
tigleit,  23arm!^erjigleit  unb  SBa^r^eit, 
l^eitigen,  rühmen  unb  greifen;  barnad) 
auc^,  baf  mir  unfer  ganjeö  Seben,  @e* 
banlen,  SBorte  unb  SBerle,  ba^in  x\^* 
ten,  ba^  bein  5lame  urn  unfertwiKen 
ni(^t  geläj^ert,  fonbern  gee^ret  unb  ge^ 
:priefen  »erbe* 


Question  122. 
What  is  the  Jh'st  petition  f 

Answee. 
Hallowed  be  Thy  name.  That 
is :  Enable  us  rightly  to  know 
Thee,  and  to  hallow,  magnify  and 
praise  Thee  in  all  Thy  works,  in 
which  shine  forth  Thy  power,  wis- 
dom, goodness,  justice,  mercy  and 
truth ;  and  likewise  so  to  order 
our  whole  life,  in  thought,  word 
and  work,  that  Thy  name  may  not 
be  blasphemed,  but  honored  and 
praised  on  our  account. 


^rage  123« 
SCßa^iftbiesmeite  Sitte? 


Question  123. 
What  is  the  second  petition  ? 


270 


CATECHISMÜS. 


3u!om  betn  ditiä),  bap  ij!,  fftt^ 
giere  ön^  atfo  bur(^  bein  mort  onb  geijt, 
ba§  njir  öttö  btr  je  lenger  Je  me^r  önber^ 
wer jfen "") :  erhalt  onb  tne^re  beinc  !ir^ 
(^eu  ^)f  üub  jerftore  bte  mer^J  beö  ^euffel^, 
unb  alten  gen)alt  ber  fit^  lutber  bic^  ergebt, 
ünb  alte  bofe  ra^tfi^Iege,  bie  n)iber  bein 
l^eilige^  »ort  erbac^t  werben  '^),  Mp  bie 
üolfomen^eit  beine^  'tRdä)^  ()er|u  lome*^), 
barin  bu  wirft  atle^  in  altem  fein')* 

d)  Matt.  6.  Psal.  119.  et  143.  h)  Psal.  51.  et 
122.  c)  1  loh.  3.  Rom.  16,  d)  Apoc.  22.  Rom. 
8.     e)  1  Cor.  15. 

Sagiflbiebritte23itt? 

Stntwort* 
1)txn  333il  gef^e^e  auff  erben 
wie  im  ^immel,  baö  ift,  »erleide  baf 
wir  ünb  atte  menf(^en  onferm  eigenen 
Witten  al^fagen''),  ünb  beinem  attein 
guten  Witten  one  atte^  wiberfpred)en  ge^ 
^ord^en''),  bap  atfo  jeberman  fein  am))t 
ünb  Beruff  fo  wittig  ünb  trewtid^  auf^ 
rii^te"),  wie  bie  Sngel  im  ^immet^)* 

a)  Matt.  16.  Tit.  2.  5)  Luc.  22.  c)  1  Cor.  7. 
d)  Psal.  108. 

^tag* 
S3}aötftbieüierbe23itt? 


VeITIAT  EEGiniM  TUUM.     HoC  CSt ! 

Eegas  nos  ita  verbo  et  Spiritu  tuo, 
ut  nos  tibi  magis  magisque  sub- 
jiciamus;  conserva  et  äuge  Eccle- 
siani  tuam ;  destrue  opera  Diaboli, 
omnemque  potentiam  se  adversus 
majestatem  tuam  efferentem ;  irrita 
fac  omnia  consilia,  quae  contra  ver- 
bum  tuum  capiuntur,  quoad  plena 
tandem  ac  perfecte  regnes,  cum  eris 
omnia  in  omnibus. 

CXXIV. 

QucB  est  tertia  petitio? 

Fiat  volijntas  tua,  quemadmo- 
dum  ln  ccelo,  sic  etiam  in  tekea. 
Hoc  est :  Da  ut  nos  et  omnes  homi- 
nes, voluntati  proprise  renunciantes, 
tuse  voluntati,  quse  sola  est  sancta, 
prompte  et  sine  ullo  murmure  pa- 
reamus,  atque  ita  singuli  manda- 
tum  nobis  munus  fideliter  et  ala- 
criter  exequamur,  quemadmodum 
faciunt  Angeli  in  coelo. 

cxxv. 

QucB  est  quarta petitiof 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


211 


5(ntwort* 

;Dein  ffttxö)  lomnte*  !Da^  tfi: 
Sflegiete  unö  alfo  buret)  bein  2Öort  unb 
©etj^,  baf  »it  xin^  2)ir  je  länger  je 
nte^r  untertt>erfen ;  erhalte  unb  nte^re 
beine  ^nä)t,  unb  jerftöre  bte  Serie  beö 
3;eufel^  unb  alle  ©ewalt,  bte  ft(^  tüiber 
2)t^  er^eBt,  unb  aUt  t)öfen  9?at§fd}Iäge 
bie  miber  bein  !^eiltge^  Sßort  erbad)t 
tuerben,  M^  bte  S3onfommen^eit  betneö 
^Ret^ö  ^erjulomnte,  barin  ^u  toix^ 
mi^  in  Altern  fein. 

^^rage  124* 
SBa^tf^  bie  britte  Sitte? 

Sfntmort* 
2)ein  SÖille  gefd)e^e  auf  Sr^ 
ben,  mie  im  Fimmel*  T)a^  t|!: 
S5erlei^e,  baf  tuir  unb  alte  5!}?enfc^en 
unferm  eigenen  SÖiüen  aBfagen,  itnb 
beinern  aüein  guten  SÖtKen  ol^ne  atleö 
SÖiberfprec^en  ge^cr(i)en ;  ha^  alfo  3^^ 
berntann  fein  5(mt  unb  33eruf  fo  »inig 
unb  txtväxä)  au0ri(^te,  n?ie  bie  Sngel 
im  ^immeL 


AisrswEE. 
Tht  KINGDOM  COME.  That  is: 
So  govern  us  by  Thy  word  and 
Spirit,  that  we  may  submit  our- 
selves unto  Thee  always  more  and 
more;  preserve  and  increase  Thy 
Church ;  destroy  the  works  of  the 
Devil,  every  power  that  exalteth 
itself  against  Thee,  and  all  wicked 
devices  formed  against  Thy  holy 
word,  until  the  full  coming  of  Thy 
kingdom,  wherein  Thou  shalt  be 
all  in  all. 

Question  124. 
What  is  the  third  petition  f 

Answer. 
Thy  will  be  done  in  eaeth  as 
IT  IS  IN  HEAVEN.  That  is :  Grant 
that  we  and  all  men  may  renounce 
our  own  will,  and  yield  ourselves, 
without  gainsaying,  to  Thy  will 
which  alone  is  good ;  that  so  every 
one  may  fulfil  his  office  and  calling, 
as  willingly  and  truly  as  the  angels 
do  in  heaven. 


Oarage  125* 

Bag  i|lbiei)ierte33itte? 


Question  125. 
What  is  the  fourth  petition 


272 


CATECmSMUS. 


(S3tB  ütiö  l^eut  ünfer  tegtic^ 
Br  ob,  ba0  x%  mUt\t  m^  mit  alter 
telMii^en  notburfft  üerforgc "),  aitff  ba§ 
wir  barburcf)  erfennen,  ba§  bu  ber  einig 
orfprung  atleö  guten  Uft^),  mtb  bap 
one  beinen  fegen,  weber  önfere  forgen 
önb  arkit,  nod)  beine  gaben  onö  ge* 
beien"),  onb  mir  ber^^albe  onfer  oer^* 
tratoen  üon  alten  Sreatnren  abjie^^en, 
ün  altein  auff  bi(^  fe^en^)* 

a)  Psal,  104.  et  145.  Matt.  6.  h)  Act.  14.  et 
ir.  c)  1  Cor.  15.  Deut.  8.  Psal.  37.  d)  Psal. 
55.  et  62. 

grag. 

SßaHftbiefünffteS3itt? 
5tnt»ort* 

S5ergiB  ünö  onfcre  f(^ulb,  aU 
au(^  ioir  »ergeben  onfern  fct)ut^ 
bigern,  ba^  ift,  iootteft  on^  armen 
fünbern  atte  ünfere  miffet^at,  auö)  baö 
bofe,  fo  onö  no(^  jmerbar  ansenget  umb 
beö  blut^  (E^xifti  njilten  nit  jure^nen ''), 
joie  au^  n)ir  bif  ^eugnup  beiner  gnab 
in  on^  beftnben,  ba§  ünfer  ganzer  für== 
fa^  iji,  unferm  ne(^fien  oon  ^er^e  juuer^ 
gei^en^). 

ä)  Psal.  51.  et  143.  1  loh.  2.     l)  Mat.  6. 


Pa]s:em  nostrum  quotidianüm  da 
NOBIS  HODiE.  Hoc  est :  Suppedita 
nobis  omnia,  quae  ad  lianc  vitam 
sunt  necessaria ;  nt  per  ea  agnosca- 
mus  te  unicmn  fontem  esse,  ex  quo 
omnia  bona  emanant,  ac  nisi  tu 
benedicas,  omnem  nostram  curam 
et  industriam,  atque  adeo  tua  ip- 
sius  dona,  nobis  infelicia  et  noxia 
esse.  Quapropter  da,  ut  fiduciam 
nostram,  ab  omnibus  creaturis  aver- 
sam, in  te  solo  coUocemus. 

CXXVI. 

Qu(^  est  quinta  petitio  f 

Remitte  nobis  debita  nostea, 
sicüt  et  nos  eemittimüs  debitoei- 
bus  nostris.  Hoc  est :  Ne  nobis,  mis- 
errimis  peccatoribus,  omnia  peccata 
nostra,  atque  eam  etiam  pravitatem, 
quae  in  nobis  etiamnum  baeret,  prop- 
ter Christi  sanguinem  imputes; 
quemadmodum  nos  quoque  hoc  tu83 
gratiae  testimonium  in  cordibus  nos- 
tris  sentimus,  quod  firmiter  nobis 
propositum  habemus,  omnibus,  qui 
nos  offenderunt,  ex  animo  ignoscere. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


2T3 


Unfer  tägli(!)  23tot  gteB  un^ 
]^  c  u  t  e .  X)a^  {ft :  Sottejl  un^  mit  alter 
leiMidjen  9^ot^burft  üerfotgen,  auf  ba^ 
wir  babiirc!)  crfennen,  ba§  !Du  ber  einige 
Urfprung  alle^  ®uten  U^,  imb  bap 
o^ne  beinen  ©egen  n?eber  imfere  ®or^ 
gen  nnb  Strkit,  nccf)  beine  ©akn  unö 
gebeil)en,  unb  mir  ber^alkn  unfer  ^tx^ 
trauen  üon  alkn  (Kreaturen  abjie^en, 
unb  altein  auf  2)ic^  fe|en* 


Answee. 
Give  us  this  day  oue  daily 
BEEAD.  That  is:  Be  pleased  to 
provide  for  all  our  bodily  need; 
that  we  may  thereby  know  that 
Thou  art  the  only  fountain  of  all 
good,  and  that  without  Thy  bless- 
ing, neither  our  care  and  labor,  nor 
Thy  gifts  can  profit  us ;  and  may 
therefore  withdraw  our  trust  from 
all  creatures,  and  place  it  alone  in 
Thee. 


-     ^^rage  126» 

SBaHftbie  fünfte  33itte? 
Stntmort* 

SSergieb  unö  unfere  (Sd)ul* 
ben,  n>ie  ana)  wir  oergeBen  un^ 
fern@d)ulbigern»  5)aöift:  SBoIteft 
un^  armen  ©ünbern  alte  unfere  9}Jiffe* 
t^at,  auä)  ba0  23öfe  fo  un^  no(^  im^ 
merbar  aufhänget,  um  beö  SStutö  d^rifti 
mitten  ni(^t  jure($ncn,  wie  aud)  mir  bieö 
3eugnif  beincr  ©nabe  in  unö  ftnben, 
baf  unfer  ganjer  3?orfa|  x%  unferm 
9iäct)|len  üon  iperjen  ju  öerjei^en* 


Question  126. 
What  is  the  fifth  petition  f 

Answee. 
And  foegive  us  oue  debts  as 
WE  foegive  oue  debtoes.  That 
is:  Be  pleased,  for  the  sake  of 
Christ's  blood,  not  to  impute  to 
us,  miserable  sinners,  our  manifold 
transgressions,  nor  the  evil  which 
still  always  cleaves  to  us;  as  we 
also  find  this  witness  of  Thy  grace 
in  us,  that  it  is  our  full  purpose 
heartily  to  forgive  our  neighbor. 


35 


274 


CATECHISMUS. 


2Baöi|^biefe#e33ttt? 

55n  für  onö  nit  in  öetfu(^üg, 
fonber  exlofe  on^  öom  tiefen, 
bag  ij^,  bieweit  mir  aup  ünö  fetbj!  fo 
f(^n)a(^  fein,  ba§  mir  nit  einen  augen^ 
Uid  I)ef!et;en  fonnen^),  onb  barju  »n^ 
fere  abgefagtc  feinb,  b*  ^Ueufel^),  bie 
ttjetf),  »nb  iinfer  eigen  ffeifd)*^),  nit 
auffl;oren  ünö  anjnfec^ten:  fo  moHeft 
jjn0  erhalten  onb  fteriJen  bnrd)  bie  txa^t 
beineö  (;eiligen  ©eijlc^,  auff  bj  mir  jnen 
möge  fejle  miberfianb  t^un,  on  in  bie^ 
fern  geifttii^e  ftreit  nit  önben  ligen^), 
U^  ba§  mir  entli(^  ben  fieg  öolfomlic^ 
bel^alten^)* 

a)  loh.  15.  Psal.  103.  I)  1  Pet.  5.  Ephes.  6. 
e)  loh,  15.  d)  Eom.  7.  Galat.  5.  e)  Mat.  26. 
Mar.  13.    /)  1  Thess.  3.  et  5. 


CXXVII. 

Quce  est  sextapetitiof 

Ne  NOS  INDUCAS  IIS"  TENTATIONEM  ; 
SED    LIBEEA  NOS  A  MALO.       HoC    est  : 

Quoniam  ipsi  natura  adeo  debiles 
et  infirmi  sumus,  ut  ne  momento 
quidem  subsistere  possimus ;  infen- 
sissimi  autem  bostes  Eostri,  Satan, 
mundiis,  ac  nostra  ipsorum  caro, 
nos  continenter  oppugnant ;  tu  nos 
sustentes,  et  Spiiitus  tui  robore 
firmes,  ne  in  boc  spirituali  certa- 
mine  succumbamus,  sed  fortiter  il- 
lis  tantisper  resistamus,  donee  inte- 
gram  tandem  victoriam  obtinea- 
mus. 


Stag.  CXXVIII. 

2Öie  6ef(^Ieuj^  bu  bi§  ®e~&et  ?  Quomodo  condudis  precationem 

tuam  ? 

Stntmort. 

X>cnn  bein  i|^  ba^  JReid),  bie  Quia tuum est eegnttm, et poten- 

Irafft,  onb    bie   ^errligfeit   in  tia,  et  glokia  in  secula.  Hoc  est: 

cmig!eit,  baö  ij!,  ©Dlii)^  aHeö  Mtten  Omnia  bsec  a  te  petimus,  quia  cum 

mir  barumb  oon  bir,  ba§  bu  alö  onfer  et  rex  noster,  et   omnipotens   sis, 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


275 


grage  127* 
2ßa0ij^Mefecj)ftc^itte? 

Unb  füllte  un^  nic^t  in  S5er^ 
fud>ung;  fonbern  erlöfe  unö 
öom  23  Öfen*  !5)a^  ifl:  2)ten>eit  wir 
auö  unö  felBft  fo  f(!)n?a(^  fmb,  ba^  n)ir 
nic^t  einen  5(ugenHi(J  Befielen  lonncn, 
unb  bajn  unfere  aBgefagten  ^einbe,  bcr 
^Teufel,  bie  2BeIt,  unb  xmfer  eigen 
f^Ieifd),  nid)t  aufl;ören  unö  anzufechten ; 
fo  woUt^  T)U  unö  erhalten  unb  ftärfen 
burc^  bie  ^raft  be^  !^eitigen  ©eifteö, 
auf  ba§  mx  i^nen  mögen  fefien  SBiber^ 
j!anb  t^un,  unb  in  biefem  geiftli^en 
©trcit  nic^t  unterliegen,  W  ba§  tüir 
enbli(|  ben  ®ieg  ooHfommen  Behalten* 


Question  127. 
What  is  the  sixth  petition  f 

Answee. 
And  lead  us  not  into  tempta- 
tion;   BUT  DELIVER   US   FROM   EVIL. 

That  is :  Since  we  are  so  weak  in 
ourselves,  tLat  we  can  not  stand  a 
moment;  while  our  deadly  ene- 
mies, the  Devil,  the  world  and  our 
own  flesh,  assail  us  without  ceas- 
ing ;  be  pleased  to  preserve  and 
strengthen  us  by  the  power  of  Thy 
Holy  Spirit,  that  we  may  make 
firm  stand  against  them,  and  not 
sink  in  this  spiritual  war,  until  we 
come  off  at  last  with  complete  vic- 
tory. 


^rage  128. 
3Bie  i)ef^Iie§e|!  bu  biefeö  ©etet? 


Question  128. 
How  do  you  close  this  Prayer 


5(ntn)ort* 

>Dcnn  bein  ift  ba^  9^ei^,  unb 

btc  ^raft,  unb  bie  ^errlic^feit 

in  (Smigfeit.  5)aöi|^:  ©olc^e^atte^ 

bitten  mir  barum  oon  ÜDir,  weit  X)u  at^ 


Answer. 
For  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  and 

THE    power,    and    THE    GLORY,    FOE 

EVER.    That  is :  AH  this  we  ask  of 
Thee,  because  as  our  King,  having 


276 


CATECHISMIJS. 


^onig,  öub  alter  bing  ntec^ttg,  ön^  at(eö  omnia  nobis  et  vis  et  potes  largiri  ; 

gutö  geku  milj^,  önb  lanft"),  »nb  bap  atque  lisec  quidem  ideo  petimus,  ut 

baburd)  ntc^t  iDir,  fonber  betn  ^eiliger  ex  iis  non  ad  nos,  sed  ad  sanctum 

3lami  emig  fol  gejjriefen  mcrbe^)*  nomen  tuum  omnis  gloria  redeat. 

a)  Rom.  10.  2  Pet.  2.     I)  loh.  14.  Psal.  115. 


fBa^  kbeut  ha^  tobxtlm,  Stmen» 


CXXIX. 

Quid  sibi  vult  pa/rticula :  Amen  ' 


^tntJDOtt* 
Stmen  l^ei^  bae  fot  war  »nb  gemi§ 
fetn*  3)ettn  mein  gekt  üiel  gewtffer 
oon  ®ott  erl)6ret  i|^,  benn  ic^  in  ntet^ 
nem  ^er^en  fule,  bap  ic^  folcj)e^  üon 
i^m  t)egere'')* 

a)  2  Cor.  1.  2  Tim.  2. 


Amen  signiiicat:  Fiat,  sen  vera 
adimpleatur;  nam  precatio  mea 
multo  certius  a  Deo  est  exaudita, 
quam  ego  in  corde  meo  sentio,  me 
illud  ex  animo  cupere. 


THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM. 


277 


unfer  Äonig,  unb  aUtx  X)ittge  mä(i)tig, 
uit^  aUt^  ®ute  gekn  voxUft  unb  lannj^, 
unb  bap  babuT(^  ntc^t  rt>[x,  fonbern  betn 
l^eiliger  S^lame  et»tg  foK  gepriefen  wer^ 
ben* 

^rage  129, 
Sßaö     kbeutet     ba^     aßörtlem: 
Stmen? 

^(ntnjott* 
5(men  ^ei§t:  3)aö  fott  n?a^r  unb 
genjtf  fein;  benn  mein  @ekt  oiel  ge= 
miJTet  »on  ®ott  erhöret  ifl,  benn  t(^  in 
meinem  ^erjen  füi)le,  bap  i^  folc^eö 
jjon  3^^  IjegeT^re* 


power  over  all  tMngs,  Thou  art 
botli  willing  and  aible  to  give  us 
all  good ;  and  tliat  thereby  not  we, 
but  Thy  holy  Name  may  be  glori- 
fied for  ever. 

Question  129. 
What    is    the    meaning  of   the 
word:  Amen? 

Answer. 
Amen  means:  So  shall  it  truly 
and  surely  be.  For  my  prayer  is 
much  more  certainly  heard  of  God, 
than  I  feel  in  my  heart  that  I  de- 
sire these  things  of  Him. 


Date  Due 


u 


•tlB^'i 


■«.•^ 


VI 


